Too Shy to Scream
by Seph Meadowes
Summary: AU. Life was difficult for Caroline Forbes as she juggled being the sheriff's daughter, head cheerleader, queen bee and Tyler Lockwood's mate. As well as dealing with his pack and all the strings that come with it, she may just be falling in love with him.
1. Wolf Like Me

_Man is not man, but a wolf to those he does not know__**.**_** - ****Titus Maccius Plautus**

Matt was staring at her again. And not in the friendly almost nonchalant "Hey Caroline" way he used to greet her pre-friendship or the just "Hey" that reeked of awkward subtext after starting said friendship and certainly not in the "Hey Car" greeting with a warm smile when they started semi-dating.

He was starting at her like in the post-break up way he did with Elena, all sad puppy dogs eyes and secretly listening to Air Supply's greatest hits.

Matt was watching her with those blue eyes that had attracted her to him all those weeks ago at the bar. Those eyes that made her want to tell him all that was wrong and she kept inside, the ones that made her feel better because he said that everything would be alright as he understood _perfectly_.

How she wanted to just go over there and start kissing him with the kind of passion she read about in those cheesy, teenage romantic novels. Kiss him until they were both breathless and then they'd start kissing again.

Of course, she would've done all that exactly if there wasn't the matter of her future husband in the way.

She wondered to herself where they got to this place. Things were rocky between her and Matt, sure, but they were moving towards _actual _dating, as in handholding in public without her having to apologize for it later.

But then, thanks to his best friend of all people, that wasn't going to happen anytime soon.

_The best friend and the girlfriend? Really classy, Caroline._

The best friend in question, the widely-renown _dick _of Mystic Falls High, was staring at her from his locker on the other side of the hall, chocolate brown eyes focused on her with a predatory gleam that made her shiver in ways that she _shouldn't_ be shivering.

_Mate. _

Funny how such a small, primitive word could change her life in such a drastic way. Never in her wildest dreams would she have imagined Tyler Lockwood to be a _werewolf_ of all things. Sure, she read Twilight with Jacob Black and the whole imprinting thing but she couldn't have imagined such things to happen outside the realm of fiction, where she would've happily preferred them to stay.

_But no_, facts were straight and for some crazy, messed up reason, Tyler Lockwood thought of her as his mate, as in eternally devoted to her and the only one for him kind of way. That meant she his own personal _booty call_, to be available anytime he wanted, which was _a lot_ both to her dismay and unwittingly, her enjoyment.

She felt a wave of irritation as he cocked his head to the side at her, motioning towards the janitor's closet.

_Oh no._

If he thought she was actually….there was no way she would…

He growled at her, unmistakably and subtly enough that no one else would've noticed had they not been paying such close attention as she was.

She gave him the iciest glare she could, the one that made even the meanest cheerleaders cry and start sobbing their eyes out in the girl's restroom. She was Caroline Forbes, nobody bossed her around. Least of all him, bond or no bond, she was not going to bang him in the janitor's closet.

"_Caroline."_

His voice rung in her head in warning, his voice was deep in want, saying each syllable of her name with possessiveness.

The same possessiveness that drove him to punch the living daylights out of Matt, his own best friend, after catching them making-out at a party two months ago and carry her over his shoulder Neanderthal style to his car, taking her to Lockwood Manor to explain to her who exactly she belonged to.

And in his twisted, demented mind, it was to _him_.

"_In the closet. __**Now**__."_

"_Why should I?" _She bit back.

Sometimes this freaky psychic link could be quite bothersome. Like when he decided to have an argument with her while she was in English class and she had to explain to the teacher that she wasn't the one she was telling to 'screw off'.

"_Because I'll make you feel sorry for it later if you don't."_

She rolled her eyes. Sometimes, she got really sick of Tyler's demanding attitude. Scratch that, she didn't like it all.

"_Oh really scared now, Ty. What're you gonna do to me?"_

Her eyebrows went up in surprise as he gave her a wicked smirk. _"Wouldn't you like to know?"_

She ignored the thrill that went through her at that. Stupid hormones, she wouldn't let them get the best of her. She had done it with him in all sorts of unseemly places already. Countless times in his room, their dining room, every room in the house besides the master's bedroom, out in their freaking yard, her room, the boys' restroom in school, outside in the football field, in the woods near the creek and so many other places she really can't look at the same way anymore.

Sure, Caroline liked sex, she admitted it. But this? This was a little past normal since Tyler seemed to perpetually horny and made her join him along in his little sexual deviant escapades. Nothing seemed to be able to tame the _beast_ and when she didn't oblige him, he just got worse, going into fits of anger and violence.

He never hurt her though, something about his werewolf genetics that disabled him to. But damn it all, did he _whine_. It almost drove her insane to a certain point she wanted to make things easier for herself and jump off the edge.

_"Don't keep me waiting, Caroline."_

She huffed, seething at the impatient tone in his voice. He really had no write to boss her around like this. But for the greater good of her sanity, she nodded and tried to walk as discreetly as possible to the janitor's closet.

From the corner of her eye, she could see Tyler moving as well, moving with an effortless grace she hadn't noticed before through the crowd. The last thing she saw before being pushed inside the dark and dusty closet was Matt's sad blue eyes.

"Stop thinking about him," Tyler whispered in her ear. Irritation and jealousy was practically wafting off him. A territorial nature came with being a werewolf, so as Mrs. Lockwood had explained to her, and that meant Tyler would feel the need to mark what was his, which she didn't really care about as long as he didn't _pee_ on her. Otherwise she would kill him with her bare hands and risk ruining her manicure.

"Stop talking, Tyler." She spoke in that low, husky voice that always got him so worked up. Her hand was trailing down his torso and travelling dangerously low. "Just _fuck_ _me_."

His brown eyes darkened and he let out a groan as she took a hold of him.

Several, _several_ minutes later, panting and covered in sweat, Caroline was hugging Tyler's shirtless back to her, her hands grasping nothing but tanned skin and hard sinew. He had succeeded in erasing any thought of Matt off her mind and now she was too tired and sated to really care about how tangled and messy she may look like at the moment.

Still catching his breath, it was hot on her neck and tickled the hairs at her nape. "I love you." He said in a low growl, almost indiscernible but she heard him just the same.

Her eyes widened in surprise and for the first time in her life, Caroline Forbes was speechless.

_Oh shit._


	2. Bark At the Moon

_For the strength of the Pack is the Wolf, and the strength of the Wolf is the Pack._ **– Rudyard Kipling**

Caroline may have been avoiding Tyler for the last few days. But she justified that she had an excuse. This mating thing with Tyler just happened so fast these past few months that she barely had time to think and then…then he just had to tell her that he – _Oh my gosh, don't say it, Caroline, don't say it, don't _– 'loved' her and what was she supposed to do?

_Probably not ran away like a scared little bunny hiding from the big bad wolf._

Caroline Forbes was a lot of things and being an insecure, neurotic control freak was one of them. So she may have ran out of that janitor's closet in unadultered panic, spent most of History class obsessing over what happened and basically dodging Tyler's attempts to talk to her for the rest of the week (which was difficult because he could track her scent anywhere) but she needed time to think and she could never do that around Tyler.

_With him being so fond of the sound of his own voice and his wandering hands…particularly warm and calloused hands that knew just how to– _

And okay! The sex withdrawal the past week certainly did a number on her concentration. Which she was sure affected Tyler quite a bit too because he'd been sending her these heated glares all throughout the day but he did deserve to suffer a little with the emotional turmoil he'd caused her.

Tyler would just have to suck it up like a man – excuse her, like a werewolf and stop sending her those hungry looks that were making her blush because his attention should be on the road and she was having quite enough of Aiden's cheeky grins he was sending her from the rearview mirror.

Being a werewolf's mate held certain responsibilities and besides dealing with the other members of the wolf pack and their mates, she also had to accompany him to the monthly pack meetings in the woods at middle of the night with the moon high up in the sky and people turning into bloodthirsty wolves.

_She would be scared if she didn't know that those wolves were really just cuddly teddy bears inside. _

Well to her anyway. Werewolves didn't kill other werewolves and the mates of other werewolves even in the state of wolf mind, they were still able to know by scent and mark. Both of which she knew was present on her.

Her hand absentmindedly reached out to touch the silver crescent mark on her neck and idly remembered the awkward first mating with Tyler in the middle of the woods, the leaves and twigs digging into her bareback, the dirt on her hands and Tyler's heat surrounding her as she nearly suffocated from need.

_And knowing that the rest of the pack was nearby hearing all the needy noises she was making. Oh how she would__** never**__ get over the humiliation…_

"We're here." Tyler announced as he parked the car a couple of miles away from the clearing where they held the meetings. Other cars were there as well, owned by the other werewolves of course.

Mystic Falls had a low werewolf population not surpassing thirty at the most with other pack members leaving town or…well,_ dying_ but she didn't want to dwell on that. The only werewolves that were currently in high school were Tyler, Aiden Wolfe, Conor Vander Wel, River Hartley and Reina Lucian. All of which except for Reina (who was a freshman) were in her year.

"Stop daydreaming, Queenie." Aiden cheerily said to her as he opened the car door on her side, a surprisingly gentlemanly gesture for him. "Time to get this show on the road,"

Easy-going, confident, rebellious and hard-edged, Aiden Wolfe was Tyler's 'Beta', his second in command since Tyler was going to be the 'Alpha wolf' when the current one, Reina's dead, Remus Lucian, stepped down.

"_When the time was ready," Mrs. Lockwood had told her. _

And when the time was ready she was going to be "Queen Bitch" alongside him. She found the title absolutely ironic when that was practically her title since middle school. It was also why Aiden was so fond of calling her 'Queenie'.

_Stupid rain, stupid earth, stupid boots– _

She swore to herself as the heels of her fashionable but not hiking appropriate boots practically sank to the ground of the dry earth, causing her to trip over tree roots as she dug them out. Reina helped steady her with one hand on her forearm, silently rolling her eyes at Caroline's poor choice of footwear.

If Tyler was loud, opinionated and blunt then his younger cousin was the complete opposite. Caroline doesn't think she's ever heard Reina speak, not one word, the dark-haired girl communicated through gestures and rare expressions on her normally blank face. She was more than a little odd to be honest.

_Pity really because she was absolutely gorgeous._

The shallow part of Caroline was jealous of Reina's inherent genes. She certainly didn't look like _that _at fifteen.

And since we're at the matter of good looks, why was it that all werewolves seemed to be impossibly good looking? Tyler, Aidan, Connor, Reina, River…

_Did being hot come with being a werewolf?_

If that was the case then it was totally unfair.

All of the pack was finally there at their arrival, the wolves (the seemingly normal people in town she really had no inkling secretly shifted into furry animals with paws and sharp teeth) and their chosen mates, all of whom were like her, a little anxious about their respective other's shifting.

Caroline had seen the werewolves' transformation more times than she would've liked. Once was really more than enough to feed one's curiosity because it wasn't a pretty sight at all. In fact, it looked so painful she would not wish it on anyone.

_Tyler screaming in misery…his hands clawing at the skin of his chest and forearms…Aidan almost pulling his own hair out as he groaned…Connor hyperventilating as tears of pain started to leak out from his eyes…_

It hurt her every time to see Tyler –_ anyone_ there really in such a state but there was nothing she could do to stop it or lessen the pain.

All she could do was sit and wait around with the other mates, drinking coffee from the thermos jugs they brought along as the wolves ran deep into the forest killing some poor defenseless animal.

A hush fell over the clearing as Remus Lucian stood over them from the big rock serving as the stage that was very Lion King-esque, she thought amusedly. He was a man of average height, not quite reaching the six foot mark but his electric blue eyes and powerful presence demanded attention and every eye in that clearing was on him.

Giving the required bow to show subservience to the Alpha (Tyler tugging her down by her hand, sending her sprawling down and getting dirt on her knees), Mr. Lucian gave his mandatory speech about responsibility, strength, freedom and all the usual stuff before they all watched the moon as it rose to its zenith.

Her hand was still in Tyler's and she could feel him tense, his eyes nervous as he stared at the moon. Everyone was nervous as well and the tense silence in the clearing was almost too much to bear.

Caroline tightened her hold on his hand, trying to make him feel better, tell him that she was there for him and she wasn't going anywhere. His eyes shone of gratefulness and he pulled her closer, enveloping her in his warm arms as the tremors of the transformation wracked his body. She sighed silently as her hands stroked his back, his hot breath on her neck, quickening by the seconds…

It was comfort. And the reassurance that they would still be there in the morning, when they've all woken up from this curse, a sign that they've really woken up from their nightmare –_ that _was the responsibility of a mate.

* * *

**I posted a poll on my profile to see which of my Forwood one-shots you'd like continued and _Too Shy to Scream_ unanimously won. **

**Keep in mind that this fic we'll be a lot different from the show. In fact after 1x14, forget everything except for some things I'll be using here and there but really the show's just going to confuse you.**

**Many of the werewolf facts here and there (especially about mating) I got from random werewolf folklore. It's a lot of fun exploring this werewolf stuff and see where it's going.**

**The idea of a secret werewolf pack was something we discussed over at fanforum and it was just too brilliant not to come to life in some way. The guys over there helped me create some of the members of Tyler's pack which you'll get to learn a lot more about in the coming chapters. Reina and Aiden were created by SkySamuelle and the rest by me.  
**

**But of course, this story is still centered around Tyler and Caroline.  
**


	3. I Was A Teenage Werewolf

_A gentleman is simply a patient wolf._ **- Lana Turner**

Conor had a problem. One that had been going on for a couple of days now and Tyler had announced a small impromptu meeting for the pack at one of the picnic tables outside school.

Caroline was seated in between Tyler and Conor and across from her was Aiden who was in between Reina and River. Tyler's arm was a warm weight around her shoulders and she really wanted nothing better but to shrug him off as things were still awkward between them following the janitor's closet incident but the pack came first and she could always deal with him later.

"How could I possibly tell her without freaking her out?" Conor almost moaned in misery. "I mean, I just can't go up to her and tell her 'Riley, you're my mate' and expect her to accept it."

It was nice to know that not all male werewolves were dicks (aka her own mate and his beta), Conor was…sweet and considerate, being the nice guy of the group.

_A lot like Matt, huh?_

She shook those thoughts away and tried to reassure him. "Of course not. She'll be shocked at first but she'll come around. I mean, it's not like she can resist." Mates had a certain pull towards their significant other. When you were 'the one', it felt magnetic, you wanted – _needed _to be close to each other and every time you were, your skin was on fire and it strangely felt good. You were content, happy even.

_And God was that the sappiest crap she'd ever spewed out in her life. _

Riley may initially be overwhelmed and afraid of the whole mating thing (as she was) but she'd come around eventually. Besides, Conor already looked so whipped about her, there was no way she would be able to resist him.

_Unless she was one frigid bitch._

Werewolves had this dependence on their mates. Rejection would most probably cause them to spiral down the dark black abyss of depression and doom. It all sounded very melodramatic but you should've seen how miserable Tyler was when she avoided him for weeks when he first told her about their connection.

_Like a poor, sad little puppy. So desolate and lost, just kicked around by people his entire life…_

It was depressing just to look at him. And when your wolf was sad, you were sad.

"Cheer up, Conor." Aiden reassured him. "You can always do what our alpha did and just kidnap her, take her to your house and tell her to never touch another man besides him again."

_Aiden, you douche._

She didn't really need to be reminded of _that_ shining moment in her life. Tyler should muzzle his beta before she decided to strangle him or better, get him neutered before he spread any STDs to the freshman.

Aiden was a bit of a man-whore way back in his pre-mated status. She recalled an incident or two when he tried to get into her pants and failed.

_Maybe she should tell Tyler and watch him beat the guy up. Hmm…_

"_You're hot when you're being all sadistic, you know that?"_

She glared at Tyler in annoyance and elbowed him sharply in the ribs causing him to almost double over from surprise.

"_Out."_

"Or he could just wait around and watch all those crazy female wolves fight to the death for him." Caroline quipped, eyes on Aiden.

Werewolves had traditions especially when it came to mates. One of them was that they had to seek out their mate before the second full moon after their first transformation. If by the third full moon and the wolf still wasn't able to find a mate, the pack would choose one for him.

_By means of putting the eligible female wolves up against each other and whoever wins gets the guy. And how archaic was that?_

Which was what exactly happened to Aiden as he couldn't find his mate in time and they all had to watch that brutal ring of death and bitchiness galore…

River was new in town and was a new member of the pack but fierce determination not to get killed and enough jaw strength helped her win.

"Oh ha-ha, very funny, Queenie," Aiden retorted but she noticed how he scooted just an inch or two away from his mate. To mates that was like a kilometer.

_River may be regretting her win now._

Unlike most mates, Aiden and River weren't as warm to each other. In fact, they barely talked unless needed to. No staring adoringly into each other's eyes, no annoying telepathic link arguments, no hot, angry sex – nothing. They might as well have signed a contract for celibacy their entire lives because they wouldn't be able to have sex with anyone else.

_Tragic._

She could clearly see the hurt in River's eyes and she wanted to kick Aiden in the shins. Wasn't it enough that the girl nearly died to become his mate? She didn't know what his problem was.

"_You don't understand."_ Tyler made another entrance into her head.

"_No, I really don't." _

_A sigh._ _"It's between them, just stay out of it."_

She really wanted to argue with him about it but Tyler was right. It was none of her business. She needed to stop fuming over Aiden's douche-y behavior and try to help Conor get his mate. Because she firmly believed that he deserved to be happy.

That's right. Call her Matchmaker Forbes – to the help of lovesick werewolves in trouble, patching up relationships that need to be mended and guiding reluctant wolves to confess to their one and only.

_Never mind that she refused to fix her own._

That sobered her up quite quickly.

Right, Tyler.

And his apparent feelings for her.

_Oh will the drama never end?_

She watched Conor as he stared longingly at the brunette seated across the courtyard, typing away on her laptop and oblivious to how she was this guy's world. And pretty soon, he would become hers as well.

Caroline would make sure of it.

_Even if it killed her?_

Okay, not to_ that_ extreme.

With the famous Forbes determination, she got up from her seat, much to the surprise of the entire pack and made her way over to where Conor's mate was seated.

Riley Fox was the editor-in-chief of their school newspaper (which Caroline sheepishly admitted she never bothered to read) and was a teen novelist, writing these sad (borderline emo) stories about teenagers and their tragic, pathetic problems. She won an award or two for them as Caroline heard.

Besides that though Caroline didn't know much about her even though they've been going to the same schools since kindergarten (the only memory of her that came to mind was an incident with Tyler accidentally sitting down on her lunchbox during recess and then nil). But then Riley mostly kept to herself a good portion of the time along with her refusal to conform to anything average and her borderline appalling bluntness didn't really win her any favors.

Nevertheless, she was Conor's mate and Caroline had to befriend this girl and get her to trust Conor so when the grand wolfy secret was revealed, she wouldn't pack up and move to Antarctica or something.

_And in the process turn Conor into a suicidal emo._

"Hey Riley," She greeted the brunette, her chipper persona in full mode.

"_What are you doing?"_

"_Helping Conor. Now __**shoo**__."_ She gave him a mental shove for good measure.

Cerulean blue eyes stared up at her in bafflement and…suspicion. "Are you lost or something?"

Caroline did not let that deter her and persevered on. "Um, no. Can I take a seat?" And without waiting for a reply, she sat down. "Listen, Aiden has a party this Saturday…"

* * *

_**I love Caroline Forbes and the pack. No kidding. VD is in dire need of new faces now. Seriously.**_


	4. In For the Kill

_A clear cold morning with high wind: we caught in a trap a large gray wolf, and last night obtained in the same way a fox who had for some time infested the neighborhood of the fort. _**– Meriwether Lewis**

There were a lot of things riding on that night. The third full moon after Conor's transformation was coming near and the wolf boy was getting desperate.

The usual time of first transformation for werewolves was the full moon after their seventeenth (for girls) or eighteenth (for boys) birthday. Conor was the youngest male in the pack and Reina was the youngest female.

It was their inheritance from their ancestors, their curse and their gift that they had to learn to cope with to survive.

But with the way the sandy blond mostly trudged around the place looking lost and forlorn, his blue eyes automatically going to Riley when she was in the vicinity and sadness and hopeless sighing when she left…

_It was past the point of pathetic._

She was beginning to question if Conor had the balls to survive this.

Another sigh, another look of painful longing…

_Get it together, puppy._

"Get it together, puppy!" Tyler hissed, voicing out her thoughts, and smacking the other wolf on the arm. Conor made a face at his alpha and rubbed his abused arm gingerly. "Vander Wel, the party's tonight. You can work on making her yours then."

Caroline wanted to seriously and with much force in her lithe body beat him until he lost consciousness, anything to stop the constant replay of this conversation. She was so sick of hearing about Conor's insecurities. She couldn't even sum up the usual sympathy for him anymore.

"It'll be fine, Conor." She tried to reassure him for who-knows-only-how-many time that week.

Eyes, briefly turning to his mate from across the hallway, Conor still looked worried –

_Oh for the love of God!_

– But he was placated for now and gave her a grateful smile.

That's right. Everything would work fine and completely dandy. Caroline Forbes would someone sure as hell pay if it didn't.

Later on that night, Caroline waited patiently in her car for Riley to come out of her house. She had offered to give her a ride and back considering the brunette didn't know the way to Aiden's house and it gave Caroline the opportunity to put in a good word or two for Conor on the way.

River was also hitching a ride with them since she lived near Riley. Caroline never really got a chance to get close to the female werewolf, though they frequently hang out due to their mates, they never really got a chance to really talk or bond over anything.

River Hartley was the complete opposite of Caroline Forbes. Where Caroline was talkative, insecure, neurotic, pale and blonde - River was quiet, forever calm, had that intimidating confidence wolves had with the tan skin and her mass of dark auburn hair. She also had these mysterious brown eyes that glow an acidic green when she shifted.

But Caroline didn't dislike the girl, anything but the contrary. She admired River's strength, envied her confidence and thought her mate was an absolute douche for treating her the way he did. If Tyler treated her the way Aiden did with River, she would've kicked his ass.

River was being her normal quiet and mysterious self, eyes outside the windshield and oblivious to the night's cold weather in her short black dress.

While other people would've died of hypothermia at this point, werewolves had a body heat the temperature of a furnace. She had seen the boys walk around town during the coldest of day in nothing but sweaters and jeans meanwhile she was practically wrapped up like a mummy.

_So unfair._

Caroline wasn't a huge fan of silences, especially the awkward kind. She usually made small talk to fix this problem, as distraction was one of her fortes.

"So…"

_Great beginning, Caroline._

"How's the pack lately?"

River merely raced a thin eyebrow that said 'Shouldn't you know that?'

_Right, dumb question. Shutting up now._

They were saved from another second of awkward silence as Riley Fox finally emerged from the large house/mansion the Fox's called their home.

Riley's dad was a successful attorney in the city and owned a law firm with Reina's dad.

Tyler had mentioned something about their previously being werewolves in the Fox line but the gene had since died out after a couple of decades. Though there had been speculation of Riley's human or not status within the pack and Aiden had been forced to stalk her for weeks to see if it was true but Riley's birthday came and go and she still wasn't sprouting fur and sharp teeth.

"Hey," Riley greeted them as she got into the back seat, Caroline and River greeting her back automatically. "Sorry for the wait, my folks decided to have an impromptu interrogation."

"Sounds like a nightmare," Caroline remarked as they drove out of the driveway.

"My dad's a little overprotective." The brunette explained absentmindedly.

The doubt of her true nature rang questions in Caroline's mind again but she let it go for the moment and instead focused on driving and the long way to Aiden's house.

The Wolfe residence, like most werewolf homes, was a little farther away from where the humans lived, and was _always _near a forest. Nothing calmed down the temper then a good run in the woods. It calmed them down quicker than you can say 'nature lover'.

The only thing Caroline hated about this sort of thing was that Aiden's house was practically up a mountain and she had to drive through a series of twisted and confusing roads that she had to wonder how any of the guests got there alive or without giving up and retreating.

But she supposed the ride was worth it. Aiden's house was modern with its glass walls, neutral shade color scheme and_ Ikea_ furniture. It looked cut out straight from a magazine. They even had an indoor pool with its automatic lights and complimentary bar.

_That she remembered taking advantage of with Tyler during the last party. _

The party was already on full swing when they arrived, the booze, loud music and 'party favors' keeping the guests plenty happy. She vaguely wondered how Aiden was going to get that inevitable mess cleaned up before his parents got home from their trip.

Parking at a distance she hoped was safe from being puked on by any wandering drunk idiot, she entered the house with a bored River and a nervous Riley. River had been to more than enough of her mate's rowdy parties to count to be even be remotely interested in anything. With small wave she bid them adieu and went to go look for her mate.

Riley on the other hand didn't party nearly as much as they did. In fact Caroline remembered seeing her only twice at the most at previous parties. She was practically a newbie and if she wasn't careful, a Wolfe party could leave her waking up in one of the guest rooms, hangover and questionably sore from the previous night's events.

She better hand the brunette over to Conor before some perv tried to snatch her away and Caroline would never forgive herself.

"Is it always this…?" Riley trailed off at a loss for words as they watched some moron jumped from the second floor balcony into one of the couches, bouncing off and falling face first on the alcohol-stained carpet.

"Crazy?" Caroline supplied and nodded in confirmation. "You should see the summer party, Aiden brings out the really hard liquor and we're just lucky if we don't end up calling 911."

Cerulean eyes widened at her in surprise and fear.

_Okay, wrong thing to say._

"Come on, I have someone I want you to meet."

Making their way to the crush of people and made their way to where the pack was, River having already joined them. Tyler greeted her with a warm grin and a cup of tequila. Aiden nodded at her with a wink and Conor looked like he was going to throw up.

_Oh brother._

After a quick sip of her drink and a silent prayer, she started, "Riley, this is Tyler, Aiden, Reina, of course you know River and that's Conor." She let it all out in quick syllables that it was a wonder if the brunette understood anything she just said. "Everyone, this is Riley."

There were the Hi's and Hello's before the awkward silence made its official comeback. Tickets unanimously sold out.

She took another sip of her drink. "Aiden, I think I heard someone talking about the toilet getting clogged again by your guests. You should go check that out, take River and Reina with you." She practically shoved them up the stairs, Aiden glaring at her in annoyance.

_Oh suck it up._

"Tyler, wanna dance?" She didn't let her mate get a word out before she was dragging him unto the dance floor and swaying to the pop music.

"You're not very subtle, you know that?" Tyler remarked as he pulled her closer, his arms resting on her waist as her arms circled his neck. She was pressed up so closely against him that she could feel the heat through his clothes and the steady beating of his heart.

"I know that, Tyler. But now they're alone and everything's going to work out."

He scoffed, brown eyes almost chiding."It doesn't work that way, Caroline. She's not going to accept him that easily."

"Who knows, she might. Conor's a great guy." She defended, not letting him squash her optimism.

Turning away from Tyler, she watched Conor and Riley slowly start to talk to each other, shy smiles and breathy laughter present. They were just so cute.

_"Yeah, a nice guy that transforms into a wolf every month."_

She felt a wave of annoyance at his doubting of her plan's success."And your point being?" He could just butt out if he was going to be so negative.

He gave a defeated little sigh, his hand on the small of her back caressing her softly, trying to appease her. "All I'm saying is that…she's going to be afraid. It's inevitable. And someone has to be there to reassure her that it'll be alright."

"I can do all that." She told him, truly believing that she could get them all through this. As Mrs. Lockwood had guided her through it, she'd do the same for Riley. She knew all about what Tyler was going on about, she went_ through_ what he was going on about.

"_You're amazing, you know that?"_ Tyler was smiling at her now, eyes playful. "Enough about Conor and Riley. Let's say we escape to the pool and re-enact what we did the last time we were here?"

She blushed prettily as she recalled the all too memorable game of _I Never_ in the pool that ended with her completely naked and Jeremy Gilbert almost walking in on them.

She had to stifle a moan as Tyler's lips captured hers as if he wanted to devour her, the heat of his mouth almost searing but she didn't want him to stop. His tongue sneaked past her lips to tangle with hers and she squealed as his hand started travelling up her blouse.

_"I love you." _

She stiffened in surprise and he noticed too but she didn't let him end the kiss. Her hands went into his hair and she took command, her tongue tracing the seam of his lips, drawing circles on the roof of his mouth, and tangling with his own until he groaned against her, his hands tightening on her hips.

If Caroline was to be honest to herself, she knew the truth.

She didn't love him.

He was her mate and he was devoted to her in every sense of the word. She could never forget that when she was so important for his survival. Not with the way he made her feel so safe and protected, not when she was with his pack that she has come to think of as her own family, not for anything.

She may not love Tyler Lockwood.

But she wanted him and needed him and_ hell_, two out of three wasn't bad.

Parting with a playful nip on his bottom lip, she gave him a far too suggestive smile and took his hand letting him lead her away from all these people.

Several,_ several_ minutes later – maybe hours, she didn't really know or care – she returned to the living room her hair damp and her clothes sticking to her wet skin.

The smell of alcohol, sex and puke was thick in the air and Caroline wrinkled her nose in disgust. She knew it was worse for the wolves and wondered how they were able to stand it.

Tyler had joined Aiden at the bar where the jocks where having a drinking contest. Aiden was as expected winning since werewolves had a higher alcohol tolerance than humans. The heightened body temperature just burned all the alcohol off.

River and Reina were sitting nearby, watching the match and shaking their heads as another jock collapsed to the floor.

Conor and Riley on the other hand were getting along swimmingly. Riley laughing without abandon at something Conor said while the wolf boy looked happier than she'd ever seen him.

Caroline smiled to herself in contentment. All was right in the world.

Taking a spare seat on the loveseat the female wolves were seated on and she took the beer River handed her with a grin. She felt like celebrating. Everything was going so perfectly, Conor and Riley were going along together so well, she may not even have to coax Riley in accepting her mating.

"Let's have a toast." She raised her beer bottle as the two brunettes stared at her in confusion. "To new beginnings." She glanced at the new happy couple at the other side of the room before clinking their beer bottles together.

As soon as they did, a loud yelp of surprise rang out to the room and like a stop button had been pressed, a hush fell upon them all and every eye turned to the sight of a bemused Conor Vander Wel and the shocked cerulean eyes of Riley Fox.

Then as if someone pressed play, Riley was running out of the house, her black boots making noise on the wooden floors in her escape and all the while Caroline could see Conor's heart breaking with every step.

_Poor Conor._

"_A toast to new beginnings,"_ Tyler voice sing-sung. _"And the difficult times ahead."_

She glared at him in annoyance.

_Did he have to be right all the time?_

"_Yes."_

"_Shut up."_


	5. Fox Woman

_Fight a wolf with a flex stalk._ **– Chinese Proverb**

Conor was known to be the smartest boy in our year. He had a 3.97 GPA, was top of our class and had a full ride to Yale after graduation. He was usually the voice of reason in their own small pack, the level-headed logical one that always thought with his head and not the other one. He always used his brain to make decisions that gave the best outcome.

But the thing you should know about smart people – they make the worst mistakes.

And one of them was using the telepathic link with your oblivious mate way before you've even mentioned the word 'wolf' to her.

Now from her experience with Tyler, it hadn't been very subtle about his telling her of their connection but he at least had the common sense to tell her what it was all about before testing out their unusual link. Something Conor didn't have the common sense or sensitivity to do.

And to think she thought he was actually sensitive.

_It seems all werewolves __**are**__ tools._

And she was left to fix their problems again.

_Why did she have to be such a fucking bleeding heart?_

She blamed Tyler and his freaky werewolf genetics. She should be working on all her extra-curricular activities and committees. She should be out buying a cute party dress or going to a party.

_Not playing matchmaker for lovesick werewolf boys._

But there she was, cornering Riley Fox at her locker between classes because the brunette was avoiding her and the pack like the plague. Conor looked ready to burst into tears.

"Riley! Hi!" She greeted the cerulean-eyed girl making her almost jump in surprise. Those cerulean eyes widened in panic and looked around her for an escape.

_Oh no you don't!_

Quickly, Caroline grabbed the girl's arm with a firm grip. All those hours in cheerleading gave her some strength and she was able to keep a firm grip even when the brunette struggled. "It's okay." She tried to reassure, keeping her voice gentle. "No one's going to hurt you."

"And you expect me to believe that?" Riley's voice was panicked and borderline hysterical. "Let me go!"

Caroline resisted rolling her eyes. There was really no need for all this. "Look could you just calm down? I know you have questions about last Saturday at the party with Conor. And I can answer all that, we just need a less crowded place to talk."

Cerulean blue eyes stared at her disbelievingly, shaking her head, the brunette responded with much conviction. "I'm not going anywhere with you. Not with _any_ of you." She turned frightened eyes to the pack watching them from the other end of the hall with great interest.

Caroline sighed.

They were just making things worse, they really shouldn't be there. The very sight of them made Riley tenser. She needed them absent when she finally explained it all to Riley.

"_Ty, could you guys…beat it for the moment?"_

"_Not a chance, sweetheart."_

Another sigh. _"Don't call me that again, wolf boy."_

"_Whatever you say, my darling."_

"Look Riley, it's really important we talk. We have a lot to talk about and things will just get worse if you don't – "

Riley cut her off. "No! I don't care and I don't know what's up with you guys but I know something's wrong with all of you and I don't want any part of it."

_Too bad, Fox, because it's already too late for that._

"I understand you're afraid. But we really need to talk. Just come to my house when you feel like it, I'll explain everything to you."

"Fat chance of that happening." And with that, Riley shrugged her off and practically ran out of the hall.

That's when Caroline noticed the numerous eyes on her. Apparently, they made a bit of a scene.

Resisting the urge to scream in frustration and beat the life out of Conor Vanderwel, she made her way towards the pack, Tyler quickly wrapping his arm around her. The sudden warmth and comfort relaxed her somewhat and she had to resist the urge to snuggle closer to him.

"How'd it go?" Tyler asked, nodding his goodbye to the pack as he stirred her to her next class. Caroline glanced once more at Conor's pathetic expression before sighing and shaking her head. "That bad?"

"You saw her. She's not going to come within a ten foot pole of Conor." She sighed again. This was becoming a habit. "Your pack's giving me stress. Can't I just tell them to screw off and live my life as normally as possible again?"

"_What's normal about being mated to a werewolf?"_

"You wouldn't do that, Caroline. You'll help them and try your best to fix everything for everyone because that's who you are." He gave a grin that made her warm all over. "It's one of the things I love about you."

Her cheeks were on fire again as every time he used the 'L' word. She wasn't used to hearing the word coming from him and he'd been using it quite a lot these past few days. Weren't boys supposed to like be avoiding that word like a plague? But then again, Tyler wasn't like most boys.

_Wolf transformations and above average abilities aside…_

He'd apparently notice the tension in the air and opted to change the topic. "We're all going for a drink later at The Grill. You coming?"

"No, I can't actually. Elena, Bonnie and I are having a girl's night in at my house. It'll be just us eating pasta, getting our nails done and watching four hours worth of Hugh Jackman." She explained with a relish. The girl's night in was her idea. She hadn't been talking to her friends much for weeks now due to her being busy with the pack and them doing God knew what with the Salvatore brothers.

Caroline had a fear that they were growing apart and that was something she wouldn't allow happen. She'd always been great at balancing different aspects of her life. She could balance the pack and her friends. It would just involve a lot of prioritizing and organization. Which she was very good that.

"Sounds like fun." They stopped right outside the History classroom, Mr. Saltzman was inside writing something on the board as the rest of the class filed in. "And I'll see you later."

"Mm-hmm." Caroline pulled him down by his jacket and kissed him, enjoying the softness of his lips and his warm breath fanning her cheeks before a cough from Mr. Saltzman told them clearly that they should stop their PDA.

"Caroline?" Mr. Saltzman gestured to her usual seat and Caroline stole one last peck before Tyler was off and she took her seat.

Later on that night, Caroline realized just how much she missed her friends.

She adored the pack and that included all the insanity that came with them but nobody could ever replace Bonnie and Elena in her heart. They were practically her sisters and although they may not all get along with each other at times, she knew that they still loved one another.

It was a little awkward at first as they tried to reconnect with each other from all the weeks of not talking but the pasta, glitter nail polish and Hugh Jackman had served to lull them to an easy atmosphere and they were saying to Hugh Jackman's great hair as they used to way back in freshman year.

Things got a little uncomfortable though when Bonnie started asking questions. "So, Caroline...you and Tyler, when did that happen?"

Caroline almost dropped her fork and plate of ravioli crashing on the wooden floors but thankfully she recovered in time. "What's with the sudden questions?"

"Well, you and Matt were getting pretty close and then out of the blue, you and Tyler?"

And then Elena joined in. "It all seems a little sudden, Caroline. That's all were saying."

She really wanted to tell them to just back off. She was already having a difficult time defining her relationship with Tyler and keeping the secret of a Mystic Falls werewolf pack from being revealed to the Founder's council lest they get an urge for hunting wild beasts and she really didn't need Elena and Bonnie getting their noses into her business.

But they were her friends and they deserve the at least watered down version.

"Matt and I didn't go well together." She explained nonchalantly, taking large bites of her pasta to give her an excuse not to talk.

Alas Bonnie did not want to let it go. "And you and Tyler do?"

She was scrambling for words but tried to explain as best as she could. "Matt was always bothered with my insecurities, Tyler doesn't care about them. He just thinks they're hilarious and uses them to tease me for his own sick amusement."

Funny enough, all of that was true.

Matt couldn't handle her insecurities and demanding nature. He needed someone more stable and less emotional. All things she couldn't be without changing her entire personality. Even with how sweet Matt was, he couldn't see past her flaws and in time started to resent her for them.

"I know it sounds odd but Tyler and I work. We just do."

In comparison, Tyler didn't care about how messed up he was. He was just or _even more _messed up. And he accepted every flaw, mistake, every foot in mouth moment with a careless shrug because he wasn't the type of guy to get hyped up over small things. He had his own flaws, his own mistakes, and his own foot in mouth moments and that's why they worked so well.

They were so alike and yet so different. He knew what made her tick and vice versa.

_And maybe, just maybe, his wolf genetics got something right._

Elena and Bonnie still looked skeptical but she chose to pay them no mind. The two had a curiosity complex worse than hers. They could speculate and disapprove about her relationship with Tyler all they wanted. She wasn't going to allow it to affect her.

"Look can we just stop talking about my love life. What about either of yours? Elena, how's Stefan?"

That effectively changed the topic and Elena spent the better of half an hour telling her these silly stories about Stefan with Bonnie giving an anecdote or two every other minute. They watched the rest of their movie marathon in piece and spent the next few hours just talking about the most mundane things as they bickered over which nail polish went well with their complexion.

Sooner than later however, they were cleaning dishes and Caroline was seeing them off with some forlorn waving and promising to do this again sometime soon.

She was preparing herself to go to bed and trudging up the stairs when someone knocked at the door. She pouted in discontent and figured it was either Elena or Bonnie coming back for a scarf or something but to her utter surprise it was neither of them.

"Riley?" She uttered out baffled by the tanned girl's presence. "What are you doing here? And at this time at night?"

Cerulean eyes were focused and determined as they stared her down. "Tell me everything."

"Everything?" She echoed out. Maybe she was just tired but for some reason, she was having a hard time comprehending words that were coming out of Riley's mouth.

The brunette held out a stack of printed articles with colored pictures of faeries, goblins, elves, vampires, _werewolves_, unicorns, mermaids and more. "Just tell me which of my guesses are right."

_**Oh my God**. Conor, what have you brought on to us?_

_

* * *

_

**So there you have i****t, another update and with Elena and Bonnie. I know their appearance is short but I'll share with you my little secret with fanfiction - I can't write main characters. I just can't, not without making them OOC and that's an injustice to the characters. **

**Anyway, I've mapped out the storyline and how it's going to go. Update should be soon.  
**


	6. Lycanthropy Paraphrase

_If you live among wolves you have to act like a wolf._ **– Nikita Khrushchev**

Caroline didn't lie to Riley because she wanted to, she surmised that she _had_ to.

She knew that Riley was a sweet girl deep down but she knew that the girl was first and foremost a journalist, one that had no problem exploiting people and publishing certain truths without others' approval.

It wasn't that biting sense of humor and sarcasm that kept people at bay. People stayed away from Riley Fox in order for their deepest darkest kept secrets to be revealed to the entire town or if Riley felt like it, on her million-viewed blog that was accessible for anyone with a computer.

Riley Fox wasn't a bad person per se. But she wasn't easily to be trusted.

And mate or no mate, it was better to keep the girl in the dark about the canine ancestry of those few select people in town.

The only problem now was getting the brunette to drop the story. Caroline had felt so sorry for her when she saw how terrified Riley was with the telepathic link but her feelings changed when she pulled a quick 180 and got over it and now posing as a threat to the pack.

_This would not do at all._

To resolve this little matter, here they were again at their regular picnic table with another impromptu pack meeting. These were becoming more usual that not these days.

"Bottom line is we have to keep her mouth shut." Tyler explained in his 'alpha mode' more serious than…well how he usually was. "She can't blab to the entire world about us. It's too risky."

"Come on guys, she's harmless." Conor reasoned out, in defense of the girl he was complete besotted with.

"Your say doesn't count, Vander Wel." Aiden countered. "We all know you think the sun shines out of her ass."

The sandy blonde glared back at the other wolf in annoyance. "That's not true."

"Oh look it's Riley!" River suddenly exclaimed, prompting Conor to turn around with an excited "Where?"

_Pathetic._

Conor glared at every single one of them when he realized what a fool they just made him look like. "Not funny."

"You make it too easy." Tyler told him, getting up from his seat as the bell rang. He offered her his hand to pull her up and she smiled at him as he kept holding her hand when she got to her feet. "Off to class now, puppies. Now remember, lay low, keep yourselves muzzled and maybe the fox will go for the chickens instead."

_What the hell?_

"Caroline made me watch this bunch of old black and white films. I sort of got into the talking in code stuff." Tyler explained, blushing in embarrassment (_How cute…_) at the blank stares he received.

She had to stop herself from laughing as she wrapped her arm around his torso and led him away towards the school building. _"Yeah, no more old films for you. We'll stick to only 21 century stuff from now on." _

"_Oh joy and I was so looking forward to being tied down to the couch for that Elisa Taylor film." _Was there not a time he could _not_ be sarcastic?

She rolled her eyes._ "It's Elizabeth Taylor! And you__** so**__ would enjoy getting tied up, you're weird like that."_

"_Nah, I prefer tying __**you **__up."_

"Tyler!" She squealed as his hand drifted lower than the small of her back and she slapped it away, glaring daggers into him.

"_What? You brought up bondage and how do you expect me to react?"_

The rest of her day was pretty uneventful except for Chemistry class when Tyler decided to continue their bondage conversation via telepathic link and was debating with her whether it was better to use rope or cloth, causing her to almost spill acid all over her lab partner. Fortunately, her lab partner, Stefan, had quick reflexes and saved himself a trip to the school nurse.

And then Riley decided to end that stream of peace when she approached her after class as she was about to enter her car.

"I know you're hiding something. You and that little group of yours." The girl insisted. "You told me you were going to tell me everything. And now suddenly that's different. What is so important that you _have _to keep it to yourself?"

Caroline considered retreating into her Ice Princess persona and giving the brunette a scathing comment (the bitch really was getting annoying) but thought better of it lest it encouraged her even more or worse, get quoted.

_Right, what did Tyler say? Lay low, keep yourself muzzled…and something foxes and chickens._

She gave a nonchalant little shrug and turned on the ignition, letting the car's engine warm up a bit before trying to stir it out of the parking lot.

"Hey, wait!" Riley practically flew on her windshield and Caroline wondered what the hell was wrong with this girl? "You have to tell me what's up or I'll have to find out myself. Either way, I will get to the bottom of all this."

"This isn't _Twilight_, Fox." She retorted. The bitch was _really_ getting annoying. "A simple search on Google won't give you all the answers."

"Well that just makes it more challenging then. Good, it'll make it more interesting." The brunette _finally _started to walk away and Caroline watched the image of the slim girl walk away before shaking her head in annoyance and driving off.

During the drive home, Caroline contemplated the pros and cons of telling Riley everything. It proved to be a very counterproductive activity.

**Pro: Riley would finally stop bugging her.**

**Con: She'd tell the world about the wolves.**

**Pro: Riley would finally know about her connection with Conor and they would all be happy.**

**Con: She knew for a fact that Nicholas Fox's favorite hobby was hunting in the woods for wild animals.**

**Pro: It would stop Conor from moping all the time and bothering her with his sullenness.**

**Con: He'd never bother her again…permanently when Riley's dad got a bullet in him. **

**Pro: Once Riley and Conor were out of the way, she could start helping out Aiden and River instead.**

**Con: See previous cons and it would just be an excuse to stall defining her relationship with Tyler.**

_Oh joy, see how she's solved all her problems? She didn't help anything. At all._

With a sigh, she had the strangest urge to crash her car into the nearest tree.

_See, how bad it was getting? She was contemplating suicide now!_

She spent a few more minutes wallowing and cursing her very existence before suddenly remembering that she had to meet up with some of her cheerleading friends at The Grill to discuss their next charity event.

The Sexy Suds car wash had gone well but this charity was for a different cause and she _had_ been neglecting her committee duties lately.

_As Tiki had oh-so evilly reminded her this morning during cheerleading practice… Oh, that demonic boyfriend-stealing puppy-kicking whore that was a walking billboard ad for eating disorders._

This had to be planned and go as smoothly and as perfectly as possible. She would even sacrifice important beauty sleep if need be.

Changing route and arriving at The Grill took ten to fifteen minutes and when she got inside, the other cheerleaders were still nowhere to be seen. The pack however was there, Aiden and Tyler shooting some pool at the back, River and Reina having an early dinner and Conor drinking his sorrows away with some scotch.

"You're starting to look like the physical reincarnation of those old country songs, you know?" She quipped taking the empty seat beside him at the bar. The bartender merely raised an eyebrow at her knowing full well that her eighteenth birthday was still months away.

_Next August just couldn't come fast enough._

Conor gave a lethargic shrug and downed the rest of his drink. It was the first time that Caroline really saw how completely and utterly miserable he was, the dark circles under his eyes, his unshaved jaw and the pure sadness in his eyes was not a pretty sight and usually Conor was the most good-looking among the pack so that was saying a lot.

"I think you've had enough." Caroline tried to take his drink away but he glared at her, as if blaming her for all his woes and misery. She had to admit, it hurt like a slap in the face. "_Conor_." She persisted, finally succeeding and snatching the glass and handing it quickly to the bartender.

Sighing, she suddenly found herself pouring her heart out. "I just can't seem to get anything done these days." She just couldn't stop and she wasn't the one previously downing drinks like she was dying from thirst. "I haven't really helped you out with Riley, I'm too much of a coward to talk things out with Tyler and I have no idea of what we can do for our next charity event. I've just been so useless these days. I'm sorry, Conor."

He stared at her oddly for a moment, blue eyes disbelieving before he shook his head and put his arm around her in friendly comfort. "Hey, don't be so hard on yourself, Caroline. You've more than helped me enough. I actually got to talk to Riley now and I know she's chasing us around for a different reason entirely but I can't say it's not helping stroke my ego." He grinned rakishly and she had to smile back. "And you and Tyler? You guys are like strawberries and chocolate sauce. You guys will work things out. I've seen a lot of matings and you two? You're special, I know it."

"Now you're just stroking my ego. A few drinks and you're already that far gone alreadu?"

"No, I'm not drunk or just saying all this to stroke your ego. You know I'm not." He reassured. "I'm just saying what I know. And I what I see is, you and Tyler are going to live happily ever after if nobody else does."

"That's sweet." She remarked softly, thankful for his words. "I forgot how sweet you can be. Thank you, Conor."

A blush crept on to his cheeks and his abashed grin showing dimples did nothing but made him look more adorable. How can Riley be able to resist this?

"Yeah, well, you're welcome, Caroline."

Feeling particularly giddy now, she reached and gave him a quick half hug one he responded to but pulled back when he noticed Tyler glaring at them from the pool table.

"_Relax, Tyler, he was just comforting me."_

"_Yes and he can do that without contact."_

She sighed and had to roll her eyes at his unwarranted jealousy. _"You are to do something about these possessive issues of yours. Can you say 'territorial'?"_

"_Can you say 'mate'?"_

"_Fine, I get it. I belong to you and __**only**__ you, my infuriating and domineering dick of a mate."_

"_Ditto my bitchy, neurotic, insecure bitch of a mate."_

"_Cute."_

She had to really stop rolling her eyes so much. She was starting to give herself a headache with them.

"What's having those telepathic conversations like? I mean I've tried it once…and that didn't go so well." Conor asked generally curious and she had to oblige.

"Privacy becomes a myth. You can't think a thought anymore without the chance of your mate listening in on it." She made a quick scan in her head to see if Tyler decided to invade her head again and she was satisfied to know that he wasn't.

"Sounds tragic." But she could see right through him, Conor may be acting light about it now yet she knew that he would probably give up his left arm to have what she had, to share and explore this connection with Riley.

_If only his genetics just picked a less troublesome mate. _

She didn't really what to say to him and chanced a pat on the shoulder just quick enough for Tyler to miss.

This was getting ridiculous.

"You said something about a charity event?" Conor inquired and Caroline nodded in response.

"Yeah, I can't think of what activity to do. We already did a car wash a few months back and I'm kind of dry of any ideas right now on what we should do."

"You know in my old school, the lacrosse team had these date auctions where the players would get, well, auctioned off for dates. We did it every year and it made _a ton _of money."

Caroline couldn't suppress her glee if she tried. Conor Vander Wel was a god, no question about that. Squealing, she tackled Conor into a hug and exclaimed multiple "I love you's" before Tyler had enough and dragged her away.

* * *

**I fall in love with Caroline even more with each chapter. She's epic beyond everything else. The date auction idea is from Hellcats. **


	7. Amor E Morte

_Man is to man either a god or a wolf._ **– Desiderius Erasmus**

It took exactly a week to plan the _Date & Aid_ auction. Caroline had convinced the entire cheerleading squad and football team along with some select few members of the marching band were to be auctioned off this Friday night at the gym. There was a stage, lights and a sound system, complete with a host as Mrs. Lockwood had agreed to take up the role.

_Everything was going to be perfect._

"_Date & Aid_? How's you come up with that one?" Tyler asked her as he helped her give out flyers and stick them on the walls and lockers.

"Conor helped me." She answered back smiling at him. Sometimes, it was really great to be a werewolf's mate with the blind loyalty and undeniable need to make her happy. It was like having a slave, a very snarky slave that was really good in bed.

_Life was good for Caroline Forbes._

"Conor? Right." He had his back turned to her back she could practically hear the eye roll.

"Jealous, much?"

"Bleeding heart, much?"

_Just because she was more compassionate than him…_

People were starting to stare at them as if expecting a fight but she shrugged them off and poked Tyler in the rib causing him to scowl in annoyance.

"Oh just shut up and hand out flyers. It's for a good cause."

"What kind of good cause by the way?" Tyler, ever the skeptic, he probably thought all the money went to the production of their pom-poms or something.

_Spoiled little rich boy._

She rolled her blue eyes and resisted smacking him upside the head. "For crippled children, that's what, rich boy."

"Hey guys." Conor greeted them in passing, obviously heading off to a different direction but she grabbed him by the arm before he could get far. "Caroline? Something wrong?"

_Yes, I need to sell you for a night for the sake of poor crippled children._

"No, of course not. I just need to talk to you about…" She handed him a flyer and sandy blonde eyebrows went up as he read the brightly colored text printed on the glossy paper.

"You actually went through with it?" He smiled almost approvingly and half squealing she replied, "Yeah, thank you so much for the idea! But the thing is we're a little short on people so I was wondering…" She continued with gesturing with her hands as if to act out her next words and his blue eyes widened in realization.

"Oh no, Caroline, I'm not on the football team or the matching band!"

"Yes, yes, I know but it's for a good cause!" She reasoned, smiling insanely cheerful as if it would help change his mind. "You'll be helping kids get wheelchairs _and_ I happen to know for a fact that you were lacrosse captain at your old school. And it _has _to be rule somewhere that even former jocks are required to join in."

He was still indecisive but repeated "please"s from Caroline were hard to resist. A pained look at his alpha asking to be saved and an exasperated "Just make the woman happy, Vander Wel" was all it took for him to be saying "Yes" and he watched as an impossibly more chipper Caroline walked off hand to hand with Tyler.

That night, Caroline ran to and fro in the gym checking last minute preparations, all the while the people about to be auctioned off were sitting down and relaxing. The pack in particular, except for Reina who was off working on a project with her lab partner, were watching her run around like a headless chicken with great interest.

"_Anyone ever tell you you're like a Barbie on crack when you're in charge of something?" _Tyler made an unwelcome entrance in her head, causing her to almost fall off the stage in surprise and she had to resist the urge from grabbing the microphone from Mrs. Lockwood and throwing it at his big head.

"_Anyone ever tell you you're dick like ways tend to come out at the worst times?"_

"_Ooh, a double dose of bitchy today. I was just going to ask what you want to do for our date."_

She froze.

She was so busy planning the event she forgot to talk things over with Tyler and tell him that they would both be going on individual dates.

"_Tyler, you're not bidding for me tonight and vice versa."_

"_What?" _From her viewpoint, she could see Tyler's jaw practically drop to the floor in outrage. _"What the hell do you mean by that?"_

"_I'm just being practical. We need the money some chick's bound to pay for you."_ She told him. _"It'll be fine. It'll just be one night of dinner and drinks. Nothing to get upset about."_

"_Well, what if some creep bids for you, huh? What are you gonna do then?"_

She rolled her eyes. _"Call on you for help using this link, duh!" _Sometimes, she thought Tyler had really been tackled down too many times or the werewolf hormones were affecting his brain but he could really be thick at times. _"Now, get ready to smile and wave because this thing's starting in five minutes and you're bound to be worth a couple of hundreds."_

"_Your opinion of me is so flattering."_

"_You know you love me, babe."_

"_That I do." _

She suddenly found herself speechless at the undeniable affection in his voice. Why was it that Tyler Lockwood could make her feel so warm and…cherished just with the sound of his voice and a few words?

_It was unfair. _

"Caroline, is everything alright?" Mrs. Lockwood asked her but Caroline was no fool. The woman knew exactly what was wrong.

_Your son's in love with me and I can't love him back._

"No, no, Mrs. Lockwood, everything's fine." She made a hasty excuse about getting everyone in order and virtually ran off the stage.

_Yeah, keep lying to everyone, Caroline. It might all become true someday._

The auction was a whopping success with them gaining even more than their intended quota. Caroline had watched the strangest couplings for the night including Stefan with Kurt Blaine (_The resident mayor of gay town_), Elena with Damon (_How much a douche could you be to bid for your brother's girlfriend?_) and Aiden with Sarah Walsh much to the disappointment of River (_but hey, what do you expect when you don't bother to bid for your mate?_)

Aimee Bradley bid on Tyler and she had to make him promise to keep everything PG-13 on their date or she would find them and force little Aimee to wipe her own blood off the walls and floors.

"_You are so hot when you're thinking such violent thoughts." _He murmured in her head._ "Don't fret, Caroline, I'm coming home to you."_

"_You better make sure of that."_

"Going once, going twice? SOLD!"

She shook out of the link and blinked in surprise and confusion at Mrs. Lockwood's expecting face, all the while Matt Donovan's blue eyes gazed at her from a crowd of people.

_Uh-oh, this doesn't look good._

Tyler looked like he wanted nothing better but to beat Matt to a bloody pulp as Aiden and Conor were physically restraining him now.

She felt like crying. Didn't Matt know what a dangerous game he was playing? She thought that by now he would be over her. Tyler hadn't been very subtle with his threats for him to keep his distance and if Matt continued to take chances like this, who knew what Tyler would do to him in his blind rage.

_**LOCAL BOY FOUND IN FOREST, TORN TO SHREDS BY WILD ANIMAL**_

It wasn't the headline she looked forward to reading in the morning paper.

_But still, Caroline, you can't back out. Think of the little crippled kids._

Tyler's right. Bleeding heart, much?

And that was how she wound up sitting at The Grill and having dinner with Matt Donovan, with Tyler at the back, trying to 'teach' Aimee how to shoot pool.

_That mate-stealing skank._

"What's wrong? Don't you like your meal?" Matt, ever considerate, asked her, noticing that she wasn't eating.

_I don't have an appetite when I'm imagining your upcoming death._

But of course, she didn't voice her thoughts. She sighed, more to herself. "It's not that."

"Oh." His face visibly dropped in comprehension. "It's me, isn't it?"

And how sad could those blue eyes be?

She wanted to shout "No, it's not you, it's me!" but that would be a lie and they both knew it. A part of her would always love Matt but the fact of the matter was, she was no longer his and never will be. And whether they were in a relationship or not, she couldn't risk putting him in danger even if it meant hurting him to keep him safe.

"Why'd you choose him, Care?" He asked seriously, eyes forlorn. "Out of all the guys, why Tyler?"

Hadn't she asked herself such questions countless of times? When she first learned of her mating, hadn't she asked so many of the same questions? Why her? Why him? _Why?_

"I mean Tyler can be a real dick sometimes." Matt continued. "How can you stand him? You and him? It doesn't make sense?"

"Why? Did we ever make sense, Matt?" The words were out before she could stop them and she wanted to close her eyes in shame as hurt clouded his too-blue ones.

"What do you see in him?" They were spoken quietly, as if afraid to hear the answers.

And she sighed, the breath living her body with the simple cycle of oxygen and carbon dioxide. "He _needs_ me."

"What do you mean by that?"

How she wished she could explain it all to him. What if felt and meant to be a mate, the pull, the need, the responsibility of it all. It wasn't something she could escape and in the past few weeks she realized, something she_ didn't_ want to escape from anymore.

She'd fully accepted her fate and it was time Matt did too.

She reached out and cupped his cheek, the warm flesh alive in her hand, his blue eyes focused on hers. "I will always love you, Matthew Donovan." She smiled sadly, the tears already pooling in her eyes. "Don't you dare forget that, okay?"

His mouth opened like he wanted to say something but she shook her head and the words died in his throat.

Dropping her hand from his cheek, she wiped the tears from her eyes and breathed out, trying to calm the painful beating in her chest and smiled as brightly as she could.

"Let's just enjoy the rest of our date, alright?" She gestured to his plate and picked up her fork again. "Your food's getting cold."

Matt was dazed for a few seconds before continuing eating his meal.

They shared a few moments of silence. It was strangely awkward and bittersweet at the same time until she broke the silence with funny anecdotes that brought a smile to his face. Soon they were laughing and it felt like as it should be – a cherished last moment.

All good things had to come to an end though and it did with the arrival of Tyler's parents. Mayor Lockwood made a beeline for his son while Mrs. Lockwood once spotting them headed to their table.

"Caroline, Matt, good you're here." Mrs. Lockwood was nervous, fidgety even and Caroline instantly knew that something was bad.

"Is something wrong, Mrs. Lockwood?" She asked but the older woman's eyes were on Matt.

"Unfortunately," She gasped like breathing was becoming hard for her. "Matt, you should come with us. It's…it's your sister."

Matt instantly stood up and Mrs. Lockwood answered all his questions with an apologetic shake of her head. "We should go to your house, your mother's waiting."

And then they were walking out The Grill, Caroline still clueless about what was wrong with Vicki. Matt entered the Mayor's car without question but Caroline stayed by the door waiting for Mr. Lockwood and Tyler.

As soon as she saw her mate, she grasped his hand asking him, "What's wrong?"

His eyes were dark chips of black ice. And the next words to come out his mouth made her heart skip. "Vicki's dead."

She could only gasp in shock and watch him pull away.

"_Tyler?"_

But there was no reply.

* * *

**I loved writing this chapter. Once upon a time, I shipped Matt/Caroline but then everything turned sour and I jumped ship. **

**How do you like the scene with Matt? Good? Bad?**

**Do you like the mention of Vicki's death? Yes? No?**

**What other things from the show would you like to see in the story? Tell me in your review.**


	8. Wolfshade

_Never moon a werewolf._ **– Mike Binder**

Caroline was worried about Tyler.

His aloofness towards her the other night had alarmed her to the point that she's been excessively calling his phone and when he wouldn't answer, calling the pack and Mrs. Lockwood to ask about his welfare.

But unfortunately, none of them could give her a proper answer and it was not so subtly hinted that Tyler had ordered them to keep their mouths shut.

_Why does he have to make things so difficult?_

She tried coming over to his house yesterday but all that greeted her was a concerned Mrs. Lockwood telling her that Tyler was out with Aiden (aka getting smashed until they couldn't process basic thought). She'd then gone to The Grill to pick up her mate who consumed enough alcohol that would've given a normal person liver failure and brought him home, tucked him into bed and stayed with him until morning.

Then he woke up, pulled away from her as if she was diseased and told her that he needed to be away from her for a while.

_Away? For **how** long?_

You can just imagine how hurt she'd been by that but ever self-sacrificing, she'd just replied with an "Okay", gathered her things and left. There wasn't even a kiss on the cheek or a hug, just a cold "Bye" and Caroline was dangerously close to bursting into tears.

But she'd told herself, she was Caroline Forbes and no boy, not even one that shifted into a wolf, could make her swallow her pride and act like some lovesick fool.

_That lasted for exactly four hours and twenty five minutes._

"**This is Tyler. Say something after the beep."**

Caroline's heart started skipping a rhythm faster than normal as the anxiety and restlessness shot through her system like lightning. "Hey Tyler…it's me again."

_For the 143th time to be exact… _

"Listen, I was just wondering…if you're going to be there for the Founder's party later?"

_Well, of course he will be, Caroline. It's at his house._

"And maybe we could…talk about stuff?" Breathing was becoming difficult. What if he said 'no' for God's sake and she ended up looking like some idiot there at the party waiting for him?

_Hang up now, Caroline, before you say something monumentally stupid._

"That's all actually. See you there."

Sighing, she placed her phone on her bedside table, collapsing unto the bed as she tried to keep herself from screaming or worse, _crying_.

She felt like slapping herself for how she was acting. She had never in her life been this desperate and trailing after a guy like some overly nauseatingly needy kitten and that was something Caroline Forbes did _not_ do. Well, not since Damon anyway.

The very thought of Damon made her cringe and her hands automatically reached up to feel for the tiny scars on her neck, shoulders and back that were shaped like teeth marks. She didn't remember how she got those but all she knew was that it was Damon's fault and she more than clearly remembered the bastard really did nothing but treat her like trash.

By all means, Tyler Lockwood _was_ a dick but he wasn't near the level of douche bag behavior Damon Salvatore had possessed while going out with her. Tyler cared about her to a point that it almost hurt, willing to do just about anything to please her, never hurting her intentionally and if he could help it, he even told her he loved her and she knew he meant it.

Tyler Lockwood was a lot of things (_possessive, annoying, obnoxious, and loud_) but he was far from being Damon Salvatore. And that thought gave her comfort like nothing else.

Caroline's head kept swimming around thoughts about the party and how she needed to talk to Tyler and just be there for him. He just found out his ex-girlfriend's corpse was found in the woods, which had to mess him up like nothing else.

_Though River must be feeling even more freaked out at being the one to find Vicki Donovan after the girl's mysterious disappearance months prior…_

Which reminded her, she needed to call River and see how the girl was doing. Whey they all had arrived at the Donovan residence, River was being questioned on how she stumbled upon Vicki's body and even if she might not have a werewolf's superior senses, she could smell the alcohol heavy in River's mouth.

Thankfully, Mr. Lucien was able to talk Sheriff Forbes to forget a little underage drinking and focus on finding out what really happened to Vicki that caused her death.

So far from what she heard from River's statement, the body's torso was torn to shreds like someone decided to make a lasagna out of Vicki and left her body to rot for who knew how many months in the woods. That wasn't an overdose. They had a murder on their hands.

It couldn't have been another one of those 'animal attacks' because the murderer wasn't after blood, he/she wanted to kill; killing by tearing and pulling and biting until there was left. No animal would've been so meticulous, so drugged on bloodlust.

Her mom was going half insane trying to figure it out, going out and chasing leads that were long cold or dead ends. She had no idea if they'd ever catch the culprit but she knew he/she wasn't human.

She knew it had to be a werewolf, a rogue one that was going to just cause more trouble if he/she wasn't caught. She'd have to find out how the wolves were going to deal with this dilemma at the next pack meeting.

With a sigh, Caroline got to her feet and went straight to her closet and started the scrupulous art of dressing up.

Hours later, Caroline arrived at the party, feeling severely out of place.

That wasn't the usual feeling she had when she was in the Lockwood residence but with Tyler's wishes for her to stay away from him, she felt like an intruder in the large house. Even when Mrs. Lockwood greeted her warmly and told her that Tyler was somewhere with Aiden and Conor (probably accompanied with a bottle of champagne too).

_Should've stayed at home with cookie dough ice cream and re-runs of The OC…_

She shook off that annoying voice insider her head and went in search of Tyler. Caroline was a lot of things and persistent was definitely one of them. He told her to stay away for what, guilt and sorrow over the loss of his ex he treated like shit? What was she, chopped liver?

He didn't have to take it out on her and that long-suffering and brooding thing only worked for guys like Ryan Atwood and Angel – Tyler Lockwood was neither of those men. He was more like Spike and Liam Court from _90210_.

Whatever, the main point was, she going to be there to hold his hand and hug him and screw him until he forgot every single depressing thought whether he liked it or not. She was pretty sure it was in her contract or something.

And so there she was, wandering around the vast halls of Lockwood Manor and wondering to herself why the family really needed that much space, there _was_ only three of them and it's really a wonder how the place remained so immaculate and dust-free from the centuries the structure's been standing.

But really, why would they ever need this much space, it was not like she and Tyler planned on having fifty kids or something...

…..

…..

_Kids, Caroline? **Kids**?_

She was going to forget ever thinking about having children with Tyler. She knew it was part of the whole mating thing and all but she wasn't even eighteen yet, it was going to have to wait.

_And you wanted fifty to boot._

What was with that little demonic voice in her head and making her suffer? Did it not have better things to do?

_Nope._

Typical, her conscience would be a lot like Tyler who spent the majority of the time driving her insane with their telepathic talks. She just hoped their kids wouldn't be so insufferable–

_And she does it again!_

Epic. Fail. Moment.

She sighed to herself and tried to focus on finding her mate but there were really just so many rooms, she'd already checked the usual ones they were in like Mayor Lockwood's study, Tyler's room and the gardens at the back but all she found was a couple who had far too many to drink and were now exchanging saliva as we speak.

She was greeted with the strong smell of alcohol upon entering one of the study rooms, River was sitting on the couch, shoulder slumped and really looking a pathetic sight, nursing her obviously not first bottle of alcohol. Caroline glanced at the empty bottles on the small table and floors and wondered if the Lockwood's have noticed some missing bottles from their wine cellar.

"River?" She called out tentatively and the auburn-haired girl replied with a drunken hiccup and what she thought was "Hello Caroline" but it was hard to tell from the sobs.

Caroline was at a lost on what to do, she'd never had to deal with many drunk girls, there was Tyler and Aiden after they had their Thursday drinking sessions but in her group of friends, it was usually her drunk and either Bonnie and Elena taking her home while they shook their heads at the shallow things she spouted out in the car ride.

The bottomline was Caroline didn't know how to deal with drunken girls, let alone drunken _werewolf_ girls.

_Just get over there, get the bottle out of her hands and let her cry on your shoulder until your dress is ruined. _

Oh yeah, she could do that.

_Sometimes, I have to act as both your conscience and common sense. You don't pay me nearly enough for this._

Rolling her eyes at her conscience's dramatics, she cautiously approached River, taking the seat beside the crying girl and slowly tried to pry the bottle away from her grasp.

River snatched it as far away from her as possible and growled a "No!" through the sobs. With red puffy eyes, the snot and mascara tears, Caroline was inclined to believe that Aiden was right when he said girls _did_ look like crap when they cried.

She was _never_ crying in public again.

"River, I think you've had enough." She reached for the battle again but River didn't relent. "Come on, River …how about we share? Sharing's good right?" Caroline was aware that she sounded like she was coaxing a scared puppy but from experience werewolves tended to act like nothing else when emotional. "I want some wine too. Could you give me some?"

River stared at her with her large doe eyes for a full minute before handing over the bottle, Caroline inwardly sighed in relief and placed it down on the floor. "So, you wanna tell me what's wrong?"

The wolf girl scoffed, one of her hands going through her auburn hair and messing it up. "Why would it matter?" Another drunken hiccup. "How would it change things?"

Hesitantly, she reached out and touched River with the gentlest of touches trying to give comfort as she could. "From my experience, talking about it helps. It'll get it all off your chest and maybe we can figure something out to fix whatever the problem is."

River stayed quiet for a moment, her lower lip trembling and her hands shaking as they pulled on the hem of her black and dark purple dress. Caroline felt so sorry for her and she stroked the girl's back soothingly as the tears returned and the auburn-haired girl was sobbing and telling her everything.

"Aiden hates me."

"No he doesn't." Caroline wasn't lying. Aiden obviously didn't love her but he didn't hate her either. She didn't really know what was going on in their relationship but from an outsider's point of view, it looked incredibly complicated and she had no idea what was up with that wolf boy.

"Yes, he does." The female werewolf continued her voice bitter. "Why else would he treat me like I have leprosy or something? He can't even bare to look at me or touch me or even check to see if I'm okay. He_ doesn't _care, Caroline. He'd rather see me dead than accept me as his mate." She was trembling, so filled with pain that Caroline felt her own heart breaking for her. "I should've never competed."

_No kidding. No one deserved this kind of treatment._

Caroline felt the anger bloom in her chest, it was like fire burning through her lungs and she wanted to go and find Aiden and beat him to a pulp for treating his mate like this. She wouldn't have stood for this, River _shouldn't_ have to and if she had to give Aiden that much needed wake up then she would.

"I followed them the other night... during the auction thing," The wolf girl said, her voice melancholy. "Aiden and _ Sarah_...they went to see the new _Twilight_ film. Well, because, she wanted to and Aiden's a big pushover that way. Anyway, I bought a ticket and sat at the back and just watched them." She let out a small sound that was a mockery of a laugh. "She made him laugh. I've...never made him laugh. Not once."

She let out another sob and Caroline dug through her purse for a tissue and handed it to her. "What's wrong with me, Caroline?"

"Nothing. Nothing is wrong with you." Caroline vehemently replied. "Aiden's just...I don't know what's wrong with him, I really don't."

River continued to cry and Caroline sat there with him and rubbed her back, embracing the girl for a few moments before River said something about a headache.

"Hey River, I'm going to get you some coffee, okay? You'll be fine while I'm gone right?" The brunette was too distracted from her own grief to respond and Caroline stood up smoothing out the dark material of her dress. "Don't go anywhere, alright? I'll be right back."

She was on her way to the kitchens when she bumped into – well, speak of the devil.

"Queenie! Hey...when did you arrive?" Aiden Wolfe greeted her with that same carefree attitude and cocky grin and she really wanted nothing better than to throttle him.

"Like five minutes ago." She tried her best to keep her voice controlled, trying to force down the resentment but she'd always been like an open book and her emotions were never hard to read.

Aiden was genuinely confused. _The douche._ "Are you…upset with me or something?"

"You shouldn't be asking _me_ that question, Aiden. How about you go ask that to your mate who's currently sobbing her heart out because she truly believes that you_ despise_ her and want her dead?" Her voice kept rising until she was nearly shouting at the end of her speech and Aiden was wincing from the volume.

"What?" Aiden stared at her in disbelief. "I don't hate River."

She rolled her eyes.

_Why did men have to be so thick?_

"Then why do you treat her like shit?"

The wolf boy opened his mouth to say something but closed it again, thinking twice about what he was saying. "What do you want me to do?"

"Fix this. Fix your relationship with River. Treat her like she's your mate, like how you're _supposed _to treat her." All the anger was draining her energy and only left her exasperated. "It's not rocket science, Aiden. She just needs to know you care about her."

He didn't make any promises or say anything to confirm that he would do what she said but his forest green eyes held understanding and he asked, "Where is she?"

"One of the study rooms, she's drunk, so you should get her some coffee before taking her home."

He nodded to her in goodbye and he was off.

With a tired sigh, she hoped that she helped them move a step in the right direction. There was a lot of things wrong in their relationship but she was hoping that they could fix it. River deserved a happy ending and Aiden was the reluctant prince and even if she had to polish his armor and get him up on that horse to ensure they live the fairytale ending, she'd do it.

_But right now, what about Tyler? _

With another sigh to herself (and how many times did she do that in a day?), she went back to searching for her mate.

* * *

**One of the many things I love about Caroline is that she cares for people so much that always has to try and make things better for them, she's got such a big heart and that's truly one of the things that's so beautiful about her. **

**Next up: Tyler and Caroline have a very important talk, a fist fight, and the truth is told. **


	9. Cry Wolf

_Crying wolf is a real danger_. - **David Attenborough**

Much to Caroline's dismay the rest of the night became a pattern of drama, tears and breaths that smelled strongly of alcohol.

She was searching the guest rooms for Tyler when she ended up overhearing the shouting from inside one of them. She recognized Conor immediately and after a quick peek through the door, saw that he was having the argument with Riley.

_Eavesdropping now, Caroline?_

She knew that it wasn't really any of her business, whatever it was, was between Conor and Riley but Conor looked so stressed out and she knew that werewolves were most dangerous when emotional and she had to make sure he didn't lose control as their quarreling continued.

Thankfully, there was enough alcohol and entertainment downstairs to keep the guests distracted from the heated scene.

"I thought you _wanted_ to know!" Conor half-shouted, trying to stifle his shouting and not really succeeding.

"I did! But that was….that was a before I knew you were a…a…"

"A werewolf?" Conor supplied and Riley paled at the word. The wolf boy softened and spoke more gently. "I thought you liked the strange, Riley. You said so yourself last night didn't you? Well, here it is, staring you in the face." Cautiously he stepped closer, inwardly relieved that the brunette didn't step away. "I have _so much_ more to tell you and I just need you to stay…_please_."

The last word was said like a plea and Riley looked torn about what to do. For a second, she seemed about to reach towards Conor but that changed quickly and she was stepping away, the fear and guilt clear on her face. "I'm sorry." She whispered out and she was out the door, stopping to look at Caroline in surprise before moving past her and running down the hall.

Conor didn't even look at Caroline as the blonde stepped into the room, he was too focused on his own disappointment and hurt as he took a seat on the bed, hands messing up his hair and groaning in misery.

_It seemed tonight was not a good night for werewolf kind._

Caroline felt a wave of déjà vu after remembering she just did this with River but after Conor let out a tired sigh, she was coming closer to him and taking the seat beside him on the bed.

"Hey." She greeted quietly but he didn't respond just pulling on his sandy blond locks as if it would relieve all the pain he was feeling. "Conor?" She reached out to touch his shoulder tentatively and when he didn't pull away, moved her hand to his back and rubbed soothing circles, her nails lightly scratching his jacket.

"It's going to be okay, you know?" She told him, her voice quiet but reassuring. He didn't say anything for a moment or two before looking up. She stared into Conor's blue eyes, the bluest she's ever seen on anyone and remembered that was a mixture of gold and silver they became when he shifted.

"I told her everything, Caroline." He said his voice alarmingly solemn.

She just stared back in understanding. They all knew that if anyone was going to eventually reveal it to Riley, it would be either her or Conor because she was a blabbermouth and Conor couldn't resist his mate. "When?"

He sighed before starting his tale. "Last night during _Date&Aid_, she bid for me. I was just so ecstatic about that and I just couldn't believe it. So I take her to this picnic in the woods near our house. There's this small secluded clearing near a pond and it's just breathtaking with the fireflies and the stars." His smile was fond but sad. "It was cold so I lent her my jacket and we just talked, about everything, from our families to the dumbest things. And it was all so…_perfect_."

_And wasn't that the sweetest thing you've ever heard?_

His smile dropped and she knew the beauty of his story ended there. "But then she starts asking questions and I couldn't help myself, Caroline. She wanted to know _so badly_ and I told her, I told her all of it." His eyes closed in regret, his voice self-deprecating. "I'm an idiot."

Caroline didn't know what to say so she didn't say anything. She just wrapped her arms around him and held him as he took her comfort without question.

_Poor Conor._

This had happened before, the rejection of a mate but she never expected it to happen to Conor. Everyone else but smart, sweet, considerate Conor, he didn't deserve it and while she understood Riley's fear and reluctance, she couldn't help but resent the girl for unknowingly making her friend so miserable.

_That __**bitch**__._

Conor broke the silence after a while. "What do we do now?"

She wished she could answer that but she didn't really know what to do to fix this situation even thought she so badly wanted to. Tyler would know what to do but she had no idea where he was and she didn't want to leave Conor by himself to go looking for her mate.

"I don't know, Conor." She sighed and hated herself for being so useless.

Suddenly, the door opened and they stared at Reina in surprise as she entered the room quietly, donning her eclectic style with the heavy eyeliner, flimsy blue slip, thigh-high socks, and converse sneakers.

The wolf girl didn't utter a word to them as per usual and took the other empty seat beside Conor, placing him in the middle of the two girls. Taking his hand, she did nothing more and squeeze it reassuringly as he smiled at her gratefully.

The wolves were always close to one another especially their own pack with Reina as the little sister, Conor as the responsible brother and Caroline and Tyler as mommy and daddy respectively. They had their own little family.

Remembering that she still had to go look for her mate, she stood up and after making sure Conor would be fine, she went out and continued her search. She went from room to room and up another flight of stairs before she found herself in the dark attic.

She'd only been up there once before when Mrs. Lockwood sent the boys up to go look for some family item that took the boys hours to find due to the number of junk in there and the dust covering everything which made tracking the scent impossible.

Careful not to bump into or trip on anything, she felt around the wall for the switch and it was when the light filled up the room that she found herself in the sight of Tyler's intense gold and amber stare.

_Uh-oh, that doesn't look good._

What she saw next made her gasp in shock and horror as she looked down at the dried blood on his fists and an unconscious Matt Donovan on the floor.

_**Oh my God.**_

"T-Tyler?" She breathed out, almost too afraid to speak or even walk towards Matt but she forced herself and she kneeled down, not minding the dust getting on her knees as she checked to see if her ex-boyfriend was okay.

He had a broken nose and there was blood drying on his face but his pulse was strong and his breathing even. He would be alright and she sighed in relief.

"He wouldn't stop talking." Tyler said his voice disturbingly monotonous.

She looked up to meet Tyler's wolf gaze again and shivered at the intensity of them. "What happened?"

Werewolves were only able to access their strengths and abilities while in human form when experience incredibly strong emotions. Whatever happened between the two boys must've been bad enough to force Tyler's inner wolf out.

His voice held no emotion and it scared her like nothing else. "He confronted me about…about you and me and how I could steal you away from him. He thought I was his friend and betrayed him."

He scoffed. "Which is really funny because last night, I was feeling the exact same way." She stared at him in confusion as he continued his voice gaining feeling. "I heard you…and him, _all of it_. How you still and will _always_ love him."

He sounded angry now, furious even. "And so while I stood there with Aimee_ freaking_ Bradley because the girl I really wanted to be with was confessing her undying love for someone else, I just thought to myself…what a _fucking idiot_ that makes me."

She couldn't believe this was happening. Not here, not right now, not ever. She wasn't really expecting Tyler to listen in on their conversation with his bionic hearing but she should've known that his possessiveness would get the better of him again.

He let out a laugh, so raspy and hollow it made her heart sink. "I was willing to wait you know." His voice was just sad now, defeated. "Until you got over Matt, I was going to wait for you. Hoping that _someday _you'd feel even a quarter of how I feel for you."

He radiated sadness and defeat and she wanted to run over to him and hold her in his arms and just apologize for hurting him like this. He didn't deserve this and what really made her different from Aiden and Riley when she did this to someone who loved her so unconditionally and just asked to be cared even a little bit in return.

_Who's the bitch now?_

She tried to talk to him, tried to placate him, anything to just lessen the hurt he was feeling. "Tyler…"

He cut her off. "Don't!" His eyes flashed a brighter gold and he took a deep calming breath before they finally returned to that familiar chocolate brown. "Just stay away from me, Caroline." He shook his head at her. "I want nothing more to do with you."

She felt her heart drop to her feet and she let out a shocked "What?" not quite comprehending what he was telling her.

He looked at her like it was for the last time and her breaths were coming out in short puffs of breaths. She couldn't breathe and her head was spinning.

"I'm _done_."

Those wore his last words before he was making his way across the attic, past her and Matt and down the stairs, his footsteps unnaturally quiet.

_Good job, Caroline._

She couldn't stop the tears even if she wanted to.

* * *

**Finally got this done. I'm tired, I'm going to bed. Night.**


	10. Witch Wolf

_"A beast by nature is human; a beast by beauty is us."_ **- Anonymous**

Caroline had one of the suckiest weekends of her life.

_That's an understatement._

Tyler hated her and refused to even look at her much less take her calls.

_Do you want another tissue?_

The pack was clearly trying to remain neutral in all of this but even they had to pick a side during certain moments.

_Like lunch, who to sit with, who? _

Matt took their 'date' during Date&Aid as encouragement and had been pursuing her since.

_As if she needed anymore confusion!_

Conor and River were still mourning their bleeding broken hearts.

_The three of them were officially called the Broken-hearted Fools Foundation or BFF. Yeah, she knew, cheesy._

Aiden didn't seem to care about anything.

_What else is new?_

Riley was avoiding them all.

_Smart girl._

Elena and Bonnie did God knew what with the Salvatore brothers.

_Same old, same old._

And Reina invited them all to her sixteenth birthday party.

_Huh._

She just knew something terrible was going to happen. A blind person could see it, it didn't take a genius to figure it out and the smart thing to do was to avoid the party altogether and spend the night watching Noah and Allie shout at each other and kiss in the rain.

_The Notebook_ had always been one of her favorite films. Tyler's was _Underworld_ because like all red-blooded American males he liked the action. They once had a movie night together watching said movie which ended up with her wincing at all the gore and him convincing her to reenact with him the love scene post kissing in the rain moment.

God, she missed him. Really, seriously, honest to Christ missed him.

Who knew she'd miss that arrogant, possessive bawdy comment throwing, snoring, steal-the-fucking-sheets, horny dick?

_Not her that's for sure. _

But everyone seemed to be expecting it because most of the wolves in town had heard about their little quarrel and had been giving her looks of pity and sympathy the past few days.

_Such gossips those damn wolves!_

And to really put the salt on the wound, Aimee-freaking-Bradley had been trying to put the moves on Tyler the first second she heard about their 'break-up'.

_That skank!_

Was nothing sacred anymore? Couldn't the world be sane for two seconds again?

_Of course not._

And here she was in Conor's car with River, off to go to the clearing near the falls for Reina's birthday party for a night of more pain and heartbreak.

_Why, Good Lord, why?_

"Cheer up, Caroline." Conor told her as they were near. "It's not going to be all that bad."

Caroline looked at him in complete disbelief. "Has my tirade from my house all the way here not sunk in?"

"No, I tuned you out after you mentioned Riley."

_Typical._

Rolling her eyes, she laid back in her seat and waited impatiently as Conor parked the car. When he finally turned the engine did she speak again. "I'm not going out there."

"Of course you are." Conor countered, looking at River at the backseat for back-up.

"Don't make us carry you all the way there, Caroline." River came to his rescue, the traitor. "You know we'll do it and it'd be easy because you fight like a girl."

She pouted stubbornly. "I _am_ a girl. One whose had her heart smashed to bits and wants to be left alone to wallow by herself instead of having to see…see_ him_ flirting with that slut who only a few months ago discovered the wonders of a treadmill."

Conor didn't miss a bit. "And I'm a teenage werewolf whose mate rejected him and is still madly pining over her like an idiot. River?"

"I'm an orphaned shewolf who's been on the road since she was fourteen and is now in love with a boy who would rather think she didn't exist."

Conor looked pleased and was smiling smugly as if to say 'so there'. They all had pretty terrible lives right now and she just had to suck it up and get out of the car. They were here too, weren't they? They had to face that person they love and couldn't have, weren't they?

She was being selfish and silly and she couldn't be, not anymore, not before all this.

With a sigh and a prayer, she exited the car, the two werewolves following suite.

The party was already booming when they arrived at the scene, beers being passed around, couples making out in dark corners, people flirting and talking with each other, and jocks doing stupid, crazy dares.

Locating the birthday girl was easy enough. Caroline found Reina glaring at much to her surprise, Jeremy Gilbert who was cuddling comfortably with that Asian brunette, Anna.

_Well, that's an interesting development._

"Hey, Reina." She greeted the surly brunette, her electric blue eyes were like daggers, she had no idea how Jeremy and his girlfriend couldn't have noticed her glaring at them. "Happy birthday."

She was taught that coming to a party without a gift was rude and she forced Conor to drive them into town for a last minute shopping spree before coming there. The best she could get at the last notice were a pair of pink wool mittens with _Hello fucking Kitty_ on them with a painstaking amount of Godforsaken glitter.

"The receipt's in there in case you want to get it exchanged." She said, handing over the gift bag.

Reina just quirked a smile at her, blue eyes gleaming in mischief and it both strangely unnerved her and put her at ease.

"Happy birthday, Rei-Rei!" Conor swept the lithe brunette in his arms in a bearhug, causing Caroline's gift to fall from her grip and conveniently land on the nearby bonfire. Some jocks nearby hooted.

"Or you could just burn it." Caroline muttered to herself, wincing as the Hello Kitty mittens met their demise.

River swept Reina in another hug, tamer than Conor's before the three members of the BFF went off to fix one of their problems which at the moment meant being sober.

She heard Sarah talk about there being patron and bacardi but Caroline doubted it. The good stuff only made an appearance during eighteenth birthdays and funerals.

_Huh._

So far, so good, the BFF crew hadn't seen their significant heartbreakers yet. While Caroline went to go get drinks, Conor and River had gone to talk to some older wolves in their pack mostly the ones who decided to stay and attend state colleges.

She knew there were other packs out there but they were pretty much hidden deeper than she could imagine because they hadn't heard of any yet save River's old one and she hoped all the others didn't suffer the same fate.

River originally came from Maryland where she grew up in her entire life until word got out to the other citizens about the pack and…well, you've seen the movies right? River was barely fourteen at the time and had escaped by stealing one of the neighbor's cars and had been by herself since. She didn't know if there were other survivors only that…"there was nothing but blood, fire and hate".

The view of the icebox was obscured by a couple sticking their tongues down each other's throats. Caroline had rolled her eyes and sidestepped them to get to the beer.

As she was about to get one of the bottles though a hand shot up and grabbed it before she could and she blinked in surprise at her best friend. "Bonnie? Oh hey!" She enveloped the darker girl in a hug that was returned albeit a bit awkwardly.

"When did you get here?" She asked when they parted, smiling more cheerily then she had in days. "When did you get here?"

The brunette responded, smiling. "Just a few minutes ago actually with Elena and Stefan."

"And now they're off rendezvousing?" She wagered a guess and at Bonnie's imperceptible nod, she was right.

An awkward silence overcame then suddenly, both parties having no idea what to say next. Caroline was usually good at coming up with inane topics to talk about but at the moment her mind was a blank sheet.

_Awkward…_

"So…" She let out but it just seemed to emphasis the awkwardness of the situation. "How are you?"

"Good." Awkward nod, awkward smile. "And you?"

Awkward lip biting, awkward head shake. "I've been better."

"Yeah, I heard about you and Tyler...did you guys talked to each other yet?"

And there it was again, the pity, the sympathy and she was so sick of it. Caroline was a lot of things but her mother had raised her to have enough dignity and pride not to be such a hopeless bumbling mess around others. She would give the world her most convincing smile and then lick her wounds in private.

"No, but…it's fine, really."

She obviously didn't have Bonnie convinced. But hey, she wasn't the best liar in the world but at least she tried.

Bonnie's dark eyes stared at her curiously, trying to gauge what she was thinking. Caroline made Lady Gaga proud and put on her best poker face.

"Here, I thought you wanted this." Bonnie handed over the beer bottle she had in hand and warily but surely, Caroline accepted it.

Her fingers were barely on the bottle's neck when Bonnie closed her eyes as if pulled into some kind of trance and started muttering things that made no sense.

"Bullets…pain…running…blood…_wolves_…."

Caroline yanked the bottle away from Bonnie's hand in surprise and when the brunette opened her eyes, what she saw in them made her heart almost stop - shock, fear and an omen of terrible things to come.

Caroline ran.

* * *

**My computer broke down, I went on a holiday out of town and my cousins were over effectively hindering me from updating. Besides, I lost my notes for this story and I had to remember what was in the timeline by memory.**

**But anyway, happy new year guys! I spent New Year's at my aunt's party, watching the intense yearly family poker game (I was Uncle Ron's lucky charm and he won!), it was funny because the players were drunk. They let me taste patron (10,000 peso per bottle, what?) and that stuff is potent I tell you.**

**I have a lot planned now that I'm back, I plan to finish both TSTS and Carcinogen Crush. I'm writing both a prequel (The Missing Frame) and a sequel (Now the World) to TSTS and another fic called Miseria Cantare which features Caroline with another what if? storyline.**


	11. Lycanthrope Spell

_I am a victim of your carnivorous lunar activities._ **-**___**Gerald Bringsley, an American Werewolf in London**_

Caroline had never been a believer in the paranormal, the supernatural – anything at all that was considered unexplainable and out of this world. Of course that all changed when she became a werewolf's chosen mate.

Bonnie had been her best friend as far as she could remember, long before puberty hit and she and Elena even started competing for attention. She knew about the Bennett's background from their origins in Salem to what Bonnie thought were her psychic abilities.

Ever the critic, Caroline didn't believe her friend even when Bonnie could do some pretty out of the average thing's around her, she always found an excuse for an incident. She didn't want to believe there were magic and scary visions that made her nervous for the upcoming full moon and the safety of all the wolves in town.

But the thing was, she _had_ to. If it meant ensuring the entire pack's safety, she had to.

Calling Tyler had been both an awkward and painful necessity but a necessity nonetheless and when she explained to him in fast barely recognizable syllables that she needed him to call a pack meeting as soon as possible, he surprisingly agreed. And then hang up without as much as a goodbye.

_Ouch._

She couldn't blame him, she'd hurt him deeply and she should've been more careful of her words around Matt, should've known he would give in to his possessive nature and listen in on her conversations, should've tried to return even a small amount of the affection and caring he gave to her...

But the thing was she didn't and she couldn't change that now no matter how much she wanted to. She'd just have to suck it up and hope someday, he'd be ready to forgive her.

She arrived at the Lockwood estate in a flurry of messy windblown curls and her heart beating loudly in her ears. Her neurotic behavior often translated itself into eagerness and embarrassing bluntness but nervousness wasn't a regular factor. But at the moment, standing outside the Lockwoods' front door, ringing on the doorbell, she _was_ nervous and her sweaty palms and flushed cheeks weren't doing any help of hiding it.

_Just breathe in and breathe out…_

She was sure that she almost threw up right then when Tyler opened the door, something warm flashing in his brown eyes that comforted her before turning back to that dull and cold look he'd been sporting the past week. Tyler was usually very bad at hiding how he felt, they were alike in that aspects, open books to everyone that met them and even now when he was trying his hardest not to let her see, she could see it all, the pain, longing, sadness. She wanted to hug him and just tell him she was sorry, anything to make things right but…

He didn't want that. He wanted space and she was giving him just that.

"Have the others arrived yet?" She asked, trying to start a conversation while he led them to one of the empty sitting rooms.

Monotonous and refusing to look her in the eye, he replied. "See for yourself."

_Oh._

Turned out she was the last one to arrive. But then again, she had spent two hours changing clothes and re-doing her hair and make-up trying to look her best for Tyler, hoping he would notice.

_But that's just all for naught since he's refuse to look at you anyway._

Shut up.

Strengthening her resolve, she made her way toward the middle of the sitting room where all the seats and couches faced. The entire teenage pack was there. Tyler was seated somewhere near the door and behind her, completely out of her view. Reina, Conor and Aiden were sharing one of the brown leather couches while River shared another with Tyler and Reina's cousin, Jeffrey Lockwood-Hamilton and his mate Amber Bradley (who's thankfully not related to Aimee 'The Skank' Bradley).

Jeffrey attended a different school than them and was the youngest male wolf among them having his first shift just a week after Conor's. Luckily for him, he'd had less mate problems than Conor, Aiden…or even Tyler.

_Get a grip, Car._

"So, thank you for being here today." She started. "I appreciate you all coming at such– "

Aiden rudely interrupted her. "Just cut to the chase, Queenie."

To those who didn't know, Aiden's default mood was 'bad-mannered asshole', other settings were 'insensitive jerk' and 'perverted bastard'.

She sent an icy glare at him and he just grinned wickedly, happy at having been the cause of her vexation. "_Anyway, _before I was so rudely interrupted, I need to tell you all about something –"

Aiden interrupted her _again_. "You're pregnant?"

_What the…_

That caught her off-guard and her mouth practically dropped to the floor while the rest of the pack stared at herin question as if she may really be about to bring a little Lockwood into the world.

_Jesus Christ._

"N-No! No, no, no, no, _no_!" She stammered out, flushing a bright shade of red tulips, Mrs. Lockwood's favorite flowers. A quick glance at Tyler's green face didn't make her feel any better and she willed her poor heart to calm down.

_Oh Aiden, you demonic presence in my life!_

"I'm not pregnant." She clarified and everyone deflated as if that was bad news.

_What is wrong with these people?_

"Well, have you checked?" Amber asked her, hazel eyes blinking up innocently. Caroline wanted to strangle her.

"No but I would be aware if I was pregnant."

"But most women don't notice until after a couple of–"

She interrupted the other blonde before she could continue. She could not stand another minute of this conversation topic. "For the last time, I am _not _pregnant!" At Amber's startled face, she added in more kindly. "That's not what I asked to have this meeting, okay? It's something else entirely."

She took their silence as her cue to continue. "You all know Bonnie Bennett, right?"

She explained to them what happened at Reina's birthday party and the things Bonnie had muttered while in her 'trance', least to say it all put them on edge.

"'_Wolves_'? She said 'wolves'?" Conor crowed alarmed.

"Then the vision has to be about the pack." River added in.

Conor continued. "Bullets, pain and blood…that has to be people finding out about the pack…"

"And them hunting us all down," Tyler finished, getting up from his seat near the doorway and making his way to the middle of the room, right beside Caroline. "This is bad, guys."

_Way to point out the obvious, Ty._

Tyler was all Alpha-mode and expounded. "Our problem here now is to find out who, how and when. Who finds out about us, how they find out and when they try to hunt us all down?"

It all dawned on Caroline then. "The Founders Council." They all looked at her curiously, silently asking her to continue. "They're sworn to protect the town from supernatural forces, right?"

"Yeah but I thought it was only vampires?" Aiden questioned.

"But when they find out about the pack, won't they try to do the same thing to them?"

"Like stake us all with silver stakes." Tyler interjected. "And drug us with wolfsbane."

Thankfully, only one of those things could really harm the wolves. Silver affecting a werewolf had just been a myth that the werewolves had spread themselves to fool past hunters. Wolfsbane on the other hand could weaken them and physically hurt them.

The real terrifying thing was not what the Founders Council would do but who was the one going to do that all. Tyler's parents and her mom were on the council and when the time came what would they choose, to protect the wolves or to kill them?

She didn't want to think about it.

"What do we do now?" River asked.

The room was filled with tension, anxiety and fear. It almost made it hard to breathe.

"Lay low. I'll talk to our alpha during the next full moon about this."

And with like that, they were all getting up from their seats and heading out the door, eager to get away from thoughts of fear, death and blood.

She watched the rest of the pack leave from the Lockwood's front porch. Them all waving at her and Tyler in goodbye as they got into their cars and drove away.

Tyler's presence was like a warm brand on her back, he was too far away for physical contact but she felt him just the same. It had been so long since she'd been near him, just a couple of days but it felt like months. She missed him so much and now he was right there, so close to her, all she needed to do was reach up and…

"You should go home, Caroline." He told her and her heart was beating in her chest so fast, she wondered if it would jump out of her chest and break into tiny little pieces.

She turned so quickly, it nearly gave her whiplash but she didn't notice. Because she was looking into those warm brown eyes that had been the sole subject of her daydreams and God, why did he have to look so tortured? She wanted to stop all this pain, she wanted to tell him that they could just start anew and forget about Matt and all the hurt they- _she_ caused and just forget about it all. Just forget.

"Tyler…." But she was never the one to lie. "Okay." They couldn't do that.

Not yet.

"Take care of yourself, Caroline." His hand seemed to reach up to touch her cheek but he changed his mind and he let it drop back down.

She wanted to cry again.

With a nod of goodbye, he turned and walked back inside the house.

She wanted for everything to be simple again.

* * *

**_The course of true love never did run smooth - Shakespeare_**


	12. The Werewolf's Lament

_We should never try to deny the beast – the animal within us._ **– Dr. George Waggner, The Howling**

Caroline was in autopilot in the past few weeks, going through the daily notions of school, cheerleading practice, and participating in the numerous committees she was on. It was the perfect way to keep herself busy and just not think, because every time she did and she ended up doing we're have this sickeningly romantic daydreams about her and Tyler usually involving steamy love scenes taken straight from a romance novel.

She was sure neither Bonnie nor Aiden would ever let her live it down If they found out about her fantasies of Tyler running about the place in a white ruffled shirt that showed a large amount of his tanned chest and telling her sweet nothings in Spanish all the while having a sword fight to the death for her honor with either Damon or Matt was just too much for her to bear.

_Yeah, those images we're too much for me to bear either._

Shut up.

Meanwhile Caroline had successfully mastered the art of putting a muzzle on her unhelpful and annoying conscience. Life had gotten less aggravating after she learned this useful trick.

She was interrupted from her musing when Amber stopped her in the parking lot as she headed for her car. It was already the end of classes for today and Caroline had looked forward to just spending the day soaking in sweet-smelling bubble bath and just forgetting about anything to do with the supernatural.

Unfortunately, they liked to follow her around as if she held the answers to all their questions. They should really start paying her for all her troubles.

"Hey Caroline, could I talk to you for a minute?" The other blonde asked hazel eyes filled with unspoken worry about something. "It's really important."

Oh what the heck, the bubble bath could wait. With a smile, she gestured for Amber to follow her and they made their way to the football field.

They found a nice corner in the bleachers to sit that kept the sun from getting in their eyes and also gave them a good view of the football players while they practiced. Tyler had been giving the other players hell these past few weeks, making them run vicious plays and undergoing brutal training just because he was experiencing werewolf PMS.

That was a wolf thing, when the full moon was near, they got moody and God help those poor souls that decide to piss them off.

"So, what is it?" She asked Amber gently, willing the girl to open up to her.

"I just have no one to talk to about these things," Amber told her, looking both anxious and exhausted. "And since you're a mate too, I thought you might understand."

Ah yes, the Society of Werewolf Mates, SWM. It was an unspoken bond between all mates, they shared this camaraderie, knowing what the other was going through and giving full support when the other needed it. And at the moment, Amber needed it.

She remained quiet prompting for Amber to continue and with a heavy sigh, the other girl finally let it all out. "It's Jeffrey, he's been…miserable these past few months. I think it's more than just the shifting and the mood swings that are causing it." Tears welled up in her large hazel eyes. "He's just tortured, Caroline. He hates himself for what he is, he hates losing himself to what he calls that 'monster' inside of him." She let out a stuttering breathe, her jaw shaking as the tears started to fall. "And I don't know what to do, Caroline. What can I do? He can't cope with what he is and he's started hurting himself now. There are these long deep scratch marks all over his body." Pure fear and worry were visible in his eyes. "He might kill himself if this continues on."

Caroline was shocked in silence. She had heard from Mrs. Lockwood about such incidents happening with werewolves. The constant strain on them physically and mentally sometimes forced the weaker werewolves to break, often resulting in mental disorders and sometimes full on insanity. It had something to do with their genetic make-up rejecting the werewolf gene and causing the subject's mind to turn on his body.

It was a very tragic case and was often not salvageable.

But Caroline couldn't tell Amber that, not when the girl looked so distraught at the idea of the death of the boy she was obviously in love with. Caroline herself wouldn't be able to take it if Tyler was in a similar problem.

With a quick glance at her mate, running around the football field, laughing as he tackled Aiden to the ground, she thanked whatever deities were up there for not giving him the same fate.

"What do I do, Caroline?" The other blonde asked, calling her attention again. Her tears hadn't dried yet and she made no move of wiping them way. "What do I do?"

Caroline wanted to tell her to run, to run as far away from wolves and packs and the death of boys who meant more to them than they could bear. She wanted Amber to be happy without the burden of Jeffrey's certain death as he finally destroyed himself. Amber deserved to have life away from all that. Amber didn't deserve to go through all this.

But Caroline knew that even if she did tell the blonde girl that, that it wouldn't make a difference. Amber would stay with Jeffrey until the day he finally ends it all, not taking the torture he was going through in himself. Caroline knew, she would do the exact same thing if it was her.

"Just be there for him." She finally replied.

That's all that could be done, and Amber knew it judging from the pure pain in her hazel eyes.

"Just be there for him." Amber echoed the finality of it all sinking in like a lead weight in her stomach.

Until the very end, all she could do was be there for him and what could be more tragic?

"I-I'm pregnant." The blonde sobbed out, bursting into ugly, pained cries.

Those two words cut like a knife in the air, the tension rising in an almost unbearable pressure. But of course, the fates couldn't be more kind? They were going to destroy this girl.

Amber used to be called 'The Sunshine Girl' back in junior high, back to simpler times. She had this amazing ability to bring happiness into any room she walked in. She was The Sunshine Girl, sweet, bright and full of life. And now, she may lose all reason to smile again.

Swallowing her own tears Caroline enveloped the girl in a hug, praying to God, it would be all right.

* * *

**This chapter is dedicated to an uncle of mine that died of cancer a few years ago and my aunt who stuck with him to the very end. I always wondered how she handled all those months of what must've been torture for them both and I realized, because she loved him.**

**Uncle Rudy, I'm sorry I didn't get the chance to know as everyone else did, as the kindest and greatest man they ever knew. **

**The romance novel scene with Tyler was inspired as Michael Trevino (Tyler) can speak fluent Spanish.**

**Spencer Locke, the actress who portrayed Amber Bradley, is known on and off-screen to have the uncanny ability to light up a room and has come to be known as "the Sunshine Girl".**


	13. Skinwalker's Moon

_Little girls, this seems to say / Never stop upon the way / Never trust a stranger friend / No-one knows where it may end / As you're pretty, so be wise / Wolves may lurk in every guise / Now as then, 'tis simple truth / Sweetest tongue has sharpest tooth._ **– Rosaleen, the Company of Wolves**

Caroline had been helping Amber with her problems for the past few weeks. First it was to break the news to Jeffrey's parents and then her own, both being surprised and concerned but supportive nonetheless.

Caroline was still wary about Jeffrey since knowing about his instability but she didn't think he was that much of a concern when she saw how happy the wolf boy was when Amber told him he was going to be a daddy in a few months.

Babies (or puppies) were considered a blessing. The older wolves much preferred it when the younger wolves finished their education first but due to the pack's dwindling numbers, they were still very much happy at the news when it was announced during the last pack meeting.

Amber was such a petite girl, they had no idea that she was already five months along aside from a small barely visible baby bump that all the older wolf women just had to put their hand on as if giving it their magical old lady blessings.

Caroline found it both creepy and annoying and thought Amber a saint for not snapping at any of them to back off because little Jeffrey Jr. was probably complaining about it in his mama's tummy already.

Tyler and the boys had congratulated Jeffrey with the celebratory jeers and (where the hell did they get that?) beer, praising the wolf boy for his supreme potency and for the first one among them to be dumb enough not to use protection (true story).

They were off running around like happy dogs after the painful shifting and the wolves' howls seemed to go on for the entire night as if they were announcing the good news to the skies and the entire world.

Mrs. Lockwood had been there that night as she tended to stop by once in a while to see how the pack was doing. Being the alpha's sister did give her a certain amount of privilege even if she wasn't mated to a werewolf.

It was considered distasteful to mention but the truth was Tyler's dad, Richard Lockwood, hadn't been born with the werewolf gene. It somehow skipped his generation (though a rarity it was) and he hadn't gotten over the humiliation of being born 'defective' and his lost of his rightful position as alpha.

The position of alpha had been a Lockwood birthright ever since the pack was established in the 1800's and Tyler's uncle, Mason Lockwood, was already groomed to take over the position but he was a 'free spirit' as Mrs. Lockwood explained and had skipped town right after his first shift to find the perfect wave. The pack had been at a loss for a leader after Tyler's grandfather stepped down and all eligible wolves battled it out for the right of alpha. Remus Lucian won and had been alpha ever since.

This had caused some tension between Richard Lockwood and his brother-in-law, often putting Mrs. Lockwood in the middle and acting as an ambassador.

"Hello, Caroline." Mrs. Lockwood greeted her taking a seat beside her on the wooden log she had claimed her own.

Caroline smiled at the older woman, offering her a cup of coffee from the thermos mug she brought along with some snacks she could much on to keep herself awake. Mrs. Lockwood thanked her, slightly shivering from the leftover December frost.

It was still quite cold especially in nights like this and the mates were clothed with the appropriate scarves, mittens, hats, earmuffs and thick coats. Caroline offered to share her cozy quilt with Mrs. Lockwood who gladly accepted.

The bonfire was already bright and burning and it made Caroline sleepy. Some of the other mates were roasting smores, some already off for a nap in the tents they put up and others were mingling and sharing supplies.

"So, Caroline," Mrs. Lockwood started. "Have you and Tyler…talked yet?"

Caroline inwardly sighed and thought carefully about how she would tell the Lockwood matron that her son could barely look at her much less talk to her. Caroline had to hitch a ride with the Fells (_the Fells_!) and had been subjected to the vapid and irritating comments and rhetorical question of Tina and Blair Fell.

Why in the world God decided to make the Fells werewolves she would never know. The Fells were the snooty sort that believed being one of the founding families and the werewolf pack made them better than everyone else. The Lockwoods admittedly had a similar pattern of thinking but they were nowhere near as obvious and obnoxious about it. It made Caroline want to bitch slap the Fell cousins and then some.

But what really peeved Caroline to no end was that Tyler refused to go anywhere near her before his shift as he usually required some kind of physical comfort from her as the tremors of the transformation started.

"We haven't really been…in touch lately," Caroline explained uncomfortably, feeling her cheeks flush and sadly not from the cold. "We've been really busy with some stuff." She added in lamely as if that excused all the drama in her life at the moment.

But from the look from Mrs. Lockwood's grey eyes, she didn't believe that for a second. "Caroline, whatever tiff you and my son are going through I'm sure you can work things out." The older woman insisted kindly. "I know that a relationship like this can be difficult especially at your age but I also know that you two really do care a great deal for each other." With an almost wistful smile she added, "You're my son's world, Caroline."

Those last few words did it.

Caroline found her eyes watering and she barely let out a squeak of a sob as Carol Lockwood enveloped her in a warm motherly embrace. She'd been keeping it all in for so long, the hurt, the loneliness, the sadness and the frustration of it that she lost track of how long she'd been crying into the older woman's shoulder.

She must've fallen asleep because she woke up in one of the tents in someone's sleeping bag and her quilt draped over her. Still drowsy from sleep, she tiptoed out of the tent, careful not to wake the other girls still slumbering.

The bonfire had been put out some time the previous nights and mates, some haven just woke up, others relied heavily on coffee to keep awake, greeted her good morning as she stared at the sunrise from the mountains and the hues of pinks, yellows and ice blues that colored the sky.

It was still freezing though and Caroline sneaked back inside the tent to get her quilt, when she returned outside the wolves were returning from their moonlight hunt, already shifted back to their human forms. Caroline instantly spotted the boys from the crowd, Tyler heartily laughing with Conor about something, both covered in specks of earth.

She was already running towards them before she knew it, the two werewolves stopping at the sight of her. Both boys looked tired but content, Conor giving her a friendly smile before heading off to clean up.

Caroline felt awkward with Tyler standing there with not a scrap of clothing on him, baring all to see, as if this was the first time she'd done this. She'd been accompanying Tyler to the pack meetings for months, bringing him clothes and whatever he needed. Tyler often liked to eat chocolate chip cookies after the shifts. It comforted him like nothing else.

Out of routine, Caroline had ended up bringing a packet of chocolate chip cookies even though Tyler probably wouldn't be expecting any from her. She resisted the urge to go and get them from her bag though and stood there shivering from the cold and saying absolutely nothing, not even a greeting.

They were both quiet actually, Tyler's chocolate brown eyes staring at her with a painful longing that seemed to seep into her skin and down to her bones. They said nothing for one full moment just staring into each other's eyes, his brown with her blue, as the world went on around them.

It was when she remembered that he really was quite naked that she took off her quilt and offering it to him, his eyes staring at her with such intensity, it made her cheeks burn and her breathing quicken. How is it he could melt her into a puddle of goo with one look?

With a grateful smile and modestly more covered with her quilt now, he turned away and she tried to calm down her fast beating heart.

Still there was no denying how lighter she felt then. Things were looking up with her and Tyler and she wanted to squeal from delight but at the cause of having everyone at camp staring at her oddly as she went mad from joy, she kept her enthusiasm inside and went on a search to find her missing bag.

Her trusty Louis Vuitton bag had somehow ended up mixed up with the other mates' things, probably put there when they were cleaning up last night. Fishing a mirror out, she gasped in shock at her reflection.

What she saw was not Caroline Forbes. What she saw was this Neanderthal woman with horrifying bed head that was puffy and double the regular volume of her hair, makeup smeared all over her face like the corpse bride and she was pretty sure, her breath smelled gross.

She groaned miserably. People had seen her like this! Gah, _Tyler_ had seen her like this!

Resolutely, with thoughts of making herself look like a human being again, she asked for direction towards the spring she knew was nearby from one of the older wolves to freshen up. She must've gone the wrong path or something because ten minutes later, she was absolutely lost. Without a phone no less that was hidden inside her LV bag.

She wanted to scream. Why did these things keep happening to her?

She would probably be stuck in this part of the forest forever, surviving mainly on nuts and tree bark until they found her cold and dead body up the tree where she probably hanged herself with a makeshift noose after finally losing her mind.

_Oh God._

She was so focused in her misery that she almost missed the loud girly hiss from nearby. "But it's not fair!"

Caroline blinked in surprise and rejoiced inwardly. Perhaps she wasn't destined to die in the forest alone after all. There were _people_ nearby.

She heard another hiss this time, sounding different from the previous one and relied on her hearing to know which direction they were in.

The first voice, the more feminine one, hissed something back and as Caroline went nearer, the hisses became more audible. The two voices were apparently arguing something and Caroline carefully peeked through the bush that was blocking her view to see who they were.

"Aiden, you promised!" Sarah whined and Caroline gaped in shock. What was _she _doing here? And quarreling with Aiden for another matter?

Aiden looked annoyed, forest green eyes bright with displeasure. "I never promised you anything." He almost growled out. "I don't own you _anything_."

The wolf boy was still covered in a light layer of dirt and was only dressed in dark ripped low-waist jeans. Sarah was oddly only dressed in a dark black slip, her normally pretty curls, were a mess of brown fuzz. It made Caroline feel a little better about how she looked at the moment.

But Sarah's blue eyes were gleaming with something that made Caroline nervous and she resisted the urge to step back and run from it. "You owe me everything." The brunette bit out. "Every _fucking _thing,"

Aiden seemed to get angrier at this and his nostrils flared, his strong, muscular arms grasping Sarah's thin tanned arms almost painfully. "Listen, here, you little–" He stopped abruptly and let her go. "We're not alone."

Caroline was only able to step back from the bush camouflaging her before Aiden was right beside her, greeting her with a cold "Hello Caroline." His eyes were sharp green glass. "Lost are you?"

She'd never seen Aiden look so…cold and intimidating and batted away the fear that bloomed in her gut. With as much bravado as she could muster, she answered. "I was on my way to the spring…until I heard you and Sarah." She crossed her arms over her chest and raised an accusatory eyebrow at him, doing her best to look confident even if her knees were wobbly. "That's weird. What's _she_ doing here?"

Aiden gave her a strange smile. A predator's smile, one they gave to prey before they strike. "What are you talking about, Caroline? Sarah was never here." He even gestured to where Sarah had been previously standing, the brunette complete gone. "See? It's just you and me here."

She narrowed her blue eyes into slits. She was not going to let him make her out to be some idiot. She wasn't born yesterday. "Don't pull that crap with me, Aiden." She snapped. "What were you really doing here with Sarah? A secret meeting? Cheating on River, huh?"

Familiar anger sparked into the wolf boy's eyes again. "_Cheating_? I'm not–" He closed his eyes to take a calming breath and when he opened them they were icy again. Then he said with a voice so controlled and dangerous, it made her heart quicken in alarm, "Keep out of my business, Caroline, if you don't want to get yourself into some serious trouble."

"And what do you mean by 'serious trouble'?" She dared, mentally congratulating herself for keeping her voice even.

He didn't dignify her question with a reply and just gave her that fucking predator's smile and walked away, his footsteps soundless. All the while, she watched him disappear among the foliage, a bad feeling rising in her gut.

* * *

**Keep in mind, children: there's a reason for everything. And all shall be revealed in due time. If I somehow disappear of the face of the earth, you must know, I have a back-up account. Learn what that is and you'll never lose me.**


	14. Wolfsblood

_All of us are God's creatures... just some are more creature than others._** -Anonymous**

Caroline returned to school Monday morning, racked with apprehension, curiosity and worst of all, guilt. She had spent much of the previous day, trying to piece together why Aiden was acting so strange and why Sarah was there at the forest that night.

Her first suspicion was that Aiden was cheating on winter but after thinking it over, it seemed too farfetched since it was completely opposite of a werewolf's nature and instinct. Wolves were loyal to a T and they certainly wouldn't have a secret rendezvous only a couple of feet away from where there mate's bionic hearing could pick up on them.

No, Aiden was a lot of things but he wasn't a cheater. He even looked appalled at the idea when she mentioned it.

But that still didn't solve any of her questions, did it? What the hell was Aiden up to? Caroline debated asking Tyler but she had a feeling her mate wouldn't know either. Tyler wasn't as nosey as she was and kept to his own business (unless it concerned the pack) most of the time. He would leave Aiden to do as he pleased not unless it was something dangerous.

No, Caroline was alone to figure out the new mystery in the soap opera that was their lives. A fantasy soap opera of course complete with wowing special effects and none of that unrealistic CGI Hollywood was shoving down their throats these days.

But she might have to put her Veronica Mars persona aside because she still had to do some things for the student council that the student body president, who they elected to be responsible and caring about his duties, was too lazy to take care of himself.

Paul Hudson was a sweet, polite and humble guy who everyone couldn't help but like because he was that nice and good-looking in an adorable geeky kinda way though she might have to kill Paul if he didn't start pulling his own weight soon. Then again presidential rule under Rachel Flick was too horrible too imagine. Caroline would rather be forced to do all the work if it meant not going under Rachel's dictatorship.

Sighing inwardly to herself, she quickly waded her way through the crowd after exiting her last class. There were some last minute things she had to attend to before going home and the files she needed to work on that were irresponsibly left in the gym by her other student council peers. Why they didn't have the common decency to get the files themselves she could not fathom.

The school gym was separated from the school building and she had to cross the courtyard and pass the football field to get there. Absentmindedly she watched her other school mates head to their cars and head on home or hang out some place to unwind.

It was still rather cold and she tightened her scarf around her neck and pocketed her cold hands in the pocket of her jacket, the snow melting from the sun left puddles everywhere and made the courtyard wet and slippery and she had to watch her steps otherwise she'd slip and end up sprawled on her butt on the ground. She could only feel pity for the football team who were dutifully practicing even at the cost of frostbite.

Though she was sure none of the wolf boys minded, the lucky bastards protected from the cold of it all with their heightened body heat. It was just so unfair.

Thankfully, she reached the outside of the gym pretty soon, digging into her purse for the key she asked from the janitor earlier. Strangely, the doors were already unlocked and pocketing the key again she opened the double doors of the gym and entered.

It was only slightly warmer inside, some streams of sunlight picking inside through the windows but with no heating system, it was still quite chilly. Apprehension gnawed inside her stomach, her instincts on high alert for some reason.

A voice in the back of her mind was telling her to turn around and get as far away from there as possible but she just labeled it as unwarranted paranoia and trudged on. She needed to get those files and she couldn't just back away just because she was feeling a little antsy. Besides the football team were only a couple of yards away, they'd be able to hear her if she screamed. Hopefully.

Resolutely, she tried to shake away her nerves and made her way to the bleachers to where she was told the files were left at. It took her a good five minutes to find it mostly because her concentration was shot and she just wanted to get away from there as fast as possible. When she finally found the bright colored plastic folders, she practically ran down the bleachers, her boots almost slipping on a small puddle of red juice on her way.

She inwardly cursed at her luck and put down the folders, taking a seat on the bleachers to fish out her handkerchief and wipe the juice of her boots. Ugh, she hated it when people just spilled their food everywhere and didn't even bother to clean it up. There was a reason they locked the gym up in the first place, so the place would be clean of messes like that.

She cursed even more as she got some of the juice on her fingers, idly wondering what flavor it used to be because the stuff smelled pretty bad, it was a wonder why it didn't attract any ants.

With a small huff, she picked up the folders again and got up, more careful on her way down this time of any more spilled liquids. Thankfully there was none but it was when she reached the ground that she saw more of the red juice, little droplets of it from small puddles and before she knew it, she was following the trail, ignoring the warning bells ringing off in her head.

The smell was getting worse and she mentally tried to place it as she swallowed, her heart beating a mile a minute and she clutched the folders to her chest more securely. The trail led all the way to the back of the gym, to where the sun couldn't reach. She had to squint to be able to see it anymore, all the while the voice at the back of her head was getting louder more frantic as if knowing whatever was going to be at the end of the trail was not going to be very nice.

Finally, she reached the end and in the darkness she tried to make out the form lying on the ground. No such luck, her vision wasn't as good as the wolves…

And it was then, when she finally recognized the odor. It was from when she was younger and she used to watch Grandma Forbes prepare roast beef for family dinners. She remembered how her grandmother washed the blood out of the meat in the sink, the swirls of pink that went down the drain…

With dawning horror, she realized what that red liquid really was and the large shape that was big enough to be…

She bit back a scream and turned around, running back and dropping the files she came there for in her haste, she slipped on what she realized was _blood_ and squealed in disgust as it got on her hands and on her jeans. Getting up again, she stumbled and rushed to the gym's door, her hands shaking as she tried to wrench the door open, tears were starting to pool in her eyes, her breaths pants from the fear now overcoming her senses.

Whatever did that could still be nearby and she had to get away, far away where it couldn't reach her, to where people were. With a frustrated squeal she yanked on the door and it finally opened with a jolt.

She let out a surprised scream as she ran into Tyler who grasped unto her arms as she struggled to break free. "Hey! Hey calm, down it's just me!" He tried to appease her, cupping her face in his hands to force her to look into his eyes as if to confirm it really was him. "Calm down, Caroline, calm down."

Her breaths were breathy little sobs and she wanted to break down right then because of the horror that was lying in the school gym. It all felt like one horrible bad dream and she wanted to wake up.

"I felt your panic. What's wrong?" Tyler asked gently, knowing just how fragile she was right then.

She could barely speak the dread of it all becoming too much for her and she felt like fainting and puking and screaming – she didn't even know anymore! All she wanted was to get away to where it was safe.

"T-Take me home, Tyler, Please, please take home, Tyler! _Please_!" She was vaguely aware how hysterical she was acting as Tyler complied and dragged her away, his hold on her gentle but firm.

The rest of the football team must've heard her shouting because half of them were already running towards them, their faces concern. The coach stopped them at seeing her face. "What's wrong, Caroline?"

Tyler looked ready to make some excuse to get him to back off but Caroline got the words out before he did. She stuttered and her voice shaky but she was proud of herself at being able to speak. "S-Someone's dead."

Just two words but they were enough and Tyler pulled her away and half-carried her to the safety of his car.

* * *

_**List of mated couples:**_

_**Tyler Lockwood – Caroline Forbes**_

_**Aiden Wolfe – River Hartley**_

_**Conor Vander Wel – Riley Fox**_

_**Jeffrey Lockwood-Hamilton – Amber Bradley**_

_**Reina Lucian – Unknown (To be revealed soon)**_


	15. Werewolf Silence

_The wolf always charges the lamb with muddying the stream._ **-Elihu Root**

It all felt like some horrible miserable nightmare to Caroline.

Tyler tried his best to calm her down as she practically hyperventilated, crying hysterically at all the blood on her hands and clothes. The blood was cold and such a bright shade of scarlet, the smell of it so strong, how could she ever have mistaken it for something else?

He opened the car door for him and led her in as gently as possible. She couldn't stop crying and didn't even have the energy to let her vanity worry about how she looked at the moment. Getting in the driver's seat, Tyler didn't immediately start the car but reached back in the backseat for a gray shirt God only knew was clean or not and used it to wipe the blood on her hands and arms.

It still stained a light shade of pink on her pale skin and she could still smell it, all of it was just too much and the fear lodged in her throat making breathing difficult. She couldn't take this. She wasn't strong enough to handle things like this. She needed to just be away from it all, left to the safety of her house, miles from murderers, corpses and blood…so much blood.

"T-Take me home, Tyler. Please, please take me home." She murmured and chanted repeatedly her voice barely above a whisper, her voice cracking until she was hoarse and shouting. "Take me home, Tyler! Take me home!" The tears continuing to stream down her face, her entire being shaking and Tyler's brown eyes more concerned than ever.

He grabbed her face with his warm hands and forced her to look him in the eyes that held nothing but caring and…love. Her jaw shook from her crying and her throat felt scratchy and constricted like it was jammed with cotton. Her nerves were shot with anxiety and she only stopped struggling as his thumbs wiped the tears from her face, tucking her blond curls behind her ears and revealing her face, his gaze softening, his lips kissing each eyelid tenderly until he could taste the salt of her tears. His touch was so gentle and warm. It calmed her down as he murmured in her ears that it would be okay, that he would be there to protect her and nothing was going to happen to her as long as he was there.

It was the most romantic moment she'd ever ha d with anyone. And if she was in the right mind, she would complain about the location and circumstances. But she wasn't and she continued to cry as he held her for a full moment, his fingers coiling in her blond hair, his other hand rubbing soothing circles on her back and his breath hot on her neck that made shivers run down her spine. She wanted to stay in that moment forever and it was in those very few seconds infinite beyond compare.

When she relatively calmer and not crying in frenzy anymore, Tyler turned on the engine and he let her fall into an exhausted sleep for the entire ride to her house. She dreamed of being stuck in a dark room with the walls closing in on her as blood rose up to drown her.

She woke up screaming in her bed, Tyler who hadn't left her side immediately coming to her aid and enveloping her in a comforting hug as she burst into tears again, taking comfort from his presence.

It was a little while later that Tyler tried to coax her in the bathroom to clean up, she stayed still like a mannequin as he peeled off her filthy bloody clothes and threw them in the hamper and then carrying her into the tub of lukewarm water. She was as quiet as a doll, her blue eyes far off as Tyler's careful hands washed the filth of her body, the remains of the blood of her skin, his fingers wary not to touch her more intimate parts. He pulled her to her feet when he was done washing the shampoo out of her hair and dried her off with her favorite yellow towel.

He made her sit on the bed, covered only in her red Japanese silk robe as he rummaged through her closet for something for her to wear. He froze suddenly as he found the Darthmouth sweater she'd stolen from him months ago. It was originally his dad's that he'd stolen and claimed as his favorite shirt. Caroline loved wearing it to sleep, the scent of sandalwood, forest and male, Tyler's scent was trapped in the fabric and it lulled her to slumber like nothing else.

He stared at her in question, the sweater in hand and she stood up from the bed without a word and took sweater from him. Untying the silk robe, she let it fall to the ground, not missing the intensity of Tyler's eyes as they looked over her fair skin. She quickly put on the sweater and looked for a clean set of undies in her drawer before dragging Tyler to her bed with her. They fit together like two perfect puzzle pieces, her head rested on his collarbone, his arm spooned around her waist and holding her to him as they and waited for sleep to come.

Bonnie and Elena arrived at her house early the next morning with her things as she was taking her morning cup of coffee and Tyler was taking a shower. They were considerate enough to have wiped all traces of the…of the blood and she offered them breakfast which they reluctantly accepted. Her two best friends sat at the kitchen table regarding her warily as she danced around the kitchen, looking for the pancake mix.

Some half-burned pancakes later with lots of syrup, Caroline chewed her food slowly, trying to ignore the concerned looks from her friends. She tried not to jump as Bonnie's hand reached across the table to cover hers and asked tentatively, "Caroline, are you okay?"

"I'm fine," She immediately replied, not really sure what was true from not.

They just looked more concerned, too polite to actually say anything and she ignored it all until she finished her meal. They hadn't touched their plates and the tension in the room seemed to worsen as they lost the distraction of eating.

Another few minutes passed with neither parties having no idea what to do or say when Tyler came down the stairs dressed in a fresh set of clothes. They spent so much time with each other that they left clothes in their respective houses. She had a whole guest room to herself at the Lockwood residence.

Tyler's presence was a welcome interruption and she let her friends give a terribly obvious excuse before going off and leaving her alone with her mate. Tyler took the seat beside her and helped himself to the leftover pancakes, not saying anything about her less than stellar cooking skills today. She opted to stare outside the windows as he ate, taking note of a pair of sparrows flying around.

Everything around her just felt so normal. It was strange, like nothing terrible had just happened. Or maybe that was just how Mystic Falls worked. People just seemed to die of for no reason at all whether it was drowning or some kind of animal attack. Murderers were just like any other calamity in this town.

"I have to call my parents later," Tyler announced after swallowing a particularly big bite. "They might get worried since I didn't come home last night."

She had half the mind to ask him why he didn't bother to call them last night in the first place but then remembered that he might've been too busy taking care of her last night to get the chance. She immediately softened and asked, "What about school?"

Murders or not, it was still a school day and she had a Chemistry test she needed to ace.

Tyler just shrugged noncommittally. "We can afford to lose a day."

_We_, he said we. He didn't want to leave her alone. He wanted to stay with her. It made the butterflies in her stomach flutter up to her chest and dance around her heart. She felt grateful, delighted and just…

"Thank you." She murmured out and he just smiled in response.

They both turned when at the sound of the front door closing and Sheriff Forbes entered the kitchen, eyes widening in surprise at seeing Tyler, her brown eyes looking skeptically at the Darmouth sweater she was wearing that was too large to be hers.

"Tyler…" She started. "I think you should call your parents."

He stared at her in confusion. Tyler had spent nights there before and her mom hadn't said one word about it or was usually too busy to actually do so but it was the first time, she was actually willing to get them into trouble. "Why?" He dared to ask.

And Sheriff Forbes eyes seemed to gleam with what looked like regret. "Aimee Bradley's body was found in the school gym yesterday. I need to take you in for questioning."

Caroline felt her world crumble around her.

* * *

**A little boring and more of a filler chapter but Caroline's a little scatterbrained at the moment. Expect her to be more like her amazing self in the next chapter. Sorry for the long wait, I've been busy with school, especially the school newspaper, being Editor is busy work. **

**Did any of you guessed that it would be Amy? Yes? No?**

**Care to guess who Reina's mate is gonna be? **

**And lastly, who do you wager the killer is?  
**


	16. Werewolf in Love

_The modern Little Red Riding Hood, reared on singing commercials, has no objection to being eaten by the wolf._ **–Marshall McLuhan**

Caroline sat impatiently outside the room Tyler was being questioned in, tapping her foot and biting her lips as she imagined the worst scenarios going on in there. She had no doubts about Tyler's innocence and Nicholas Fox's abilities as a lawyer and she knew Tyler's parents wouldn't let anything happen to him but she still couldn't stop herself from worrying. It was the more neurotic side of her behavior coming through and she couldn't relax even if she tried.

What if they didn't believe Tyler? What if they find evidence to frame him? What if Tyler lets his temper get to him and punch one of the officers? What if–

"Caroline!" She turned her head to find… She blinked in surprise. Practically everyone she knew was running towards her, looking like some mob escaped from the underworld and looking for salvation here on earth.

Conor, Aiden, River, Reina, Amber…

_Are you all going to have your class picture taken?_

Oh, _you_.

_Oh yes, __**me**__. Missed me, Caro?_

Not one bit.

"What are you all doing here?" She half-exclaimed getting up. "Don't you all have class?"

"The fire alarm mysteriously went off." Aiden explained, looking too innocent to actually be innocent. She just knew that he was the one to have pulled the fire alarm, she wouldn't put anything pass him as he mostly did things like that just to see how the world reacted.

_Only Aiden…_

"We heard about Tyler being suspected…" Conor explained, answering her question. "What's going on, Caroline?"

The worry stamped down her surprise at their arrival and she had to sigh and take a sit again, feeling like lead weights was suddenly put on her shoulders. "I don't know," She replied. "I have no idea why they think he would be the murderer."

It just didn't make sense. Tyler had his bad moments but he wasn't a killer. He was a lot of things but he didn't have it in him to take a human life like that with such brutality and depravity. He wasn't one of the little boys that kicked puppies down and threw rocks at butterflies. No, he would've never been able to do it.

She'd known Tyler her entire life and got even closer to him after becoming his mate. She_ knew_ him.

"Oh Caroline," Amber sighed out in sympathy, taking the seat beside her and wrapping arm around her for comfort. "It will be okay." The smaller blond smiled at her reassuringly like she really believed it.

Amber would make a great mom, that Caroline was sure of. She felt grateful for the girl's kindness, she'd gotten closer to the other blond these past few days after helping her with her pregnancy and she'd learned just what a kind and gentle soul Amber was. Almost like an angel and that she supposed would make up for her mate's…difficulties.

"Caroline, what are you wearing?" River suddenly asked, looking confused and pointing out her choice of clothing that day.

She wanted to blame it on the trauma of the murder and her panic at Tyler being suspected to have done it but fact of the matter was – even when she had the flu with a fever of ninety-eight degrees in fifth grade, she could still find a fabulous outfit to wear and make herself look less like a mess as wearing wearing Tyler's Darthmouth sweater, scruffy old jeans and mismatched flip-flops with no make-up, her hair not brushed and she still hadn't been able to take a shower – it was _no excuse_.

Seeing Caroline in her less than polished state must unnerve them like nothing else, heck, it unnerved her. She was never going to live that moment down. Ever.

_God, I wish I have a camera._

Why are you so annoying?

_Um, I'm __**you**__?_

What does that have to do with anything?

_Never mind._

She was going to say something particularly nasty to her conscience before the door to the interrogation room opened and Tyler exited along with Mayor Lockwood and Attorney Fox. She was by his side in a second, enveloping him in a tight hug and taking in his warmth. He was quick to respond and tightened the embrace, breathing in her scent and nuzzling the white column of her neck.

"_Are you okay?" _She asked him.

"_I am now."_

Those three words warmed her from the inside and out and she didn't care about all the people that were watching them right now. What mattered was that Tyler was there with her and she could finally touch him again after all these weeks. God, she missed him and she wondered to herself how she survived not having him there for so long.

"Tyler." They broke apart at the authoritative sound of Mayor Lockwood's voice and Caroline noted Tyler's wariness as he regarded his dad. "We'll talk more about this at home." And with that Mayor Lockwood was walking away down the hall with Attorney Fox, in no doubt a serious discussion about more legal matters.

Tyler seemed to have finally noticed the presence of their little pack. "What are you all doing here?"

"We heard you were in trouble, boss." Aiden replied, smiling roguishly. "Just here for back-up."

This made Tyler laugh and demand how they got themselves there without being busted and they all explained with great enthusiasm Aiden's little ploy of pulling the fire escape, causing a panic throughout the whole school with one of their classmates going berserk with a fire extinguishers and basically everyone was too busy trying to calm him down and find the imaginary fire to notice the absence of six students.

Caroline would've laughed along with them if she wasn't currently wondering to herself about Aiden's innocence. She'd always known that Aiden was immensely loyal to the pack, having that mentality ingrained to his head by his military-minded father ever since he learned to talk but Aiden also had certain…weaknesses. He had problems showing his real emotions, hiding behind his happy-go-lucky exterior and telling the world to happily fuck off if they meddled in his business. He didn't know how to take charge and be a real leader like Tyler was though he had his moments. And he didn't have Conor's iron will and could be persuaded to do things he didn't want.

If Caroline had to suspect anyone of being a traitor it would be Aiden. But what would make her think he was a killer was his history of violence. A werewolf's temper was volatile at best but Aiden had little to no control over his and one of the reasons he kept changing schools while he and his parents jumped from country to country was his inability to keep his emotions in check and just let things go.

Plus, his more than strange behavior these past few days, especially during the last pack meeting was just too suspicious not to ponder over.

But even with all the facts pointing to him, Caroline couldn't get herself to fully pin the blame on Aiden. Because this was still the boy who Tyler trusted without a doubt, who Conor bantered with on a daily basis, who River (though misguidedly) loved with her whole heart, who Reina thought of as an older brother and who teased her with the nickname of 'Queenie' and made her laugh like no one else.

A part of her just couldn't believe Aiden would be a heartless murderer. But another part of her wanted to believe that he was the killer because she felt that this case would be pinned on Tyler if the killer wasn't found soon just because he happened to have dated both victims at some point.

This was causing her stress like nothing else.

"Caroline, are you okay?" Amber who was suddenly by her side asked her, her hazel eyes concerned. And she nodded in reply with a not-so-convincing smile. "Are you sure? You seem a little…worried."

"I'm fine. " She deflected.

She really didn't want to get Amber involved in this mess because she didn't want to get the blond in danger for both her pregnancy and the rather mental instability of her mate. Also, she was Caroline's friend and she didn't want Amber hurt.

Amber couldn't be part of Pack Watch if she could help it.

"I'm fine, Amber, really." She reassured the girl more convincingly.

The blond girl just smiled in response though obviously not fully believing her. "How about we go get something to eat?" Amber asked.

"Yeah, sure, I'm starving!" Aiden exclaimed and he practically dragged all of them to the Mystic Grills with his mad need to consume something alone.

Caroline arrived home a few hours later, feeling oddly tired. She barely closed the front door before her mom decided to bombard her with questions.

"Caroline, where were you?" The sheriff inquired, actually looking concerned (?) about her well-being. She still hadn't changed out of her police uniform and Caroline had to stop herself from rolling her eyes at her mother's All High Woman recreation.

"I was at the Grill with my friends." She just answered curtly, walking past her mother to go up to her room but her mother didn't seem to want to let things go and followed her up.

"Caroline, I am talking to you." Caroline knew that tone, it was the 'Listen-to-me-or-you're-grounded' tone. God, she hated that tone.

"What?" She spat out, showing more of her annoyance than she wanted.

In her ire, she kicked off her flip flops and let herself look as petulant as can be and took a seat on her bed, pulling her knees to her chest and glaring in defiance at her mother.

Her mother just narrowed her eyes at her and leaned on the door frame of her room. "Where you with Tyler?" The older woman had the nerve to ask and Caroline felt like throwing something at her.

"So, what if I was?"

She didn't know where her mother was going with this but she really wasn't in the mood for a lecture. Unfortunately her mother didn't seem to notice or care about that.

"Caroline, I think you should stay away from him for a little bit."

Now, she really wanted to throw something at her mother, preferably something breakable. "You _think_?" She exclaimed in outrage. There were a lot of things her mother did that annoyed her but telling her to stay away from Tyler when he needed her the most definitely was on top of the list.

The sheriff didn't miss a bit. "I mean, just until the investigation is over." She explained. "I just don't think it's safe to be around him."

Oh, she just kept making it worse.

"Mom!" She got up from the bed to speak, crossing her arms over her chest and staring at her mother in pure disbelief. "I've known Tyler my entire life. _You_'ve known Tyler his entire life! You know him, mom. How could you doubt that he'd be anything but innocence?" She shook her head, not believing her mother for a second. "How could you think he has it in him to kill someone?"

Her mother sighed, eyes tortured. "I _don't _think he's a killer, Caroline." She expounded. "I just think it'd be better if you kept your distance from each other until this all blows over."

Caroline still could not believe her ears. Her mother was unbelievable. "Well, that's what you think." She spat out before grabbing her flip flops on the floor and putting them on again. She ignored her mother's inquiries as she snatched her car keys of the bedside table and ran past her mother, down the stairs, out of the house and finally to her car.

She took calming breaths before starting the engine, trying to stamp down all the anger brewing in her gut. She didn't want to end up crashing into a tree out of her frustration.

Just think happy thoughts. Like Jimmy Choo's, Alexander McQueen dresses and throwing Tiki and the Fell cousins down a well. The last one did it and with her mind and she drove all the way to the Lockwood estate with macabre fantasies of bitchy girls getting stuck in a deep, dark enclosed wet space.

She parked her car to the side and made her way at the side of the house, past bothersome bushes and almost getting herself wounded in Mrs. Lockwood's prized roses to the kitchen's entrance that Tyler showed her a while back. Thankfully, it wasn't locked the day and not a soul was in the kitchen as she sneaked in.

She didn't really want to deal with Tyler's parents at the moment. They were relatively nice people but both were too inquisitive for their own good, especially Mrs. Lockwood. That and she felt a bit like a ninja and it was sort of exhilarating.

She quietly made it up the stairs and treaded to where Tyler's room was all the way to the end of the second floor's hall, taking extra care not to step on any squeaky floorboards.

Tyler looked up expectantly as she opened the door of his bedroom. He was standing near the large French windows of his room, arms crossed and she was sure he was brooding over something until her arrival. With his bionic hearing, he must've heard her the moment her car neared their house.

"Missed me?" He greeted cheekily and she rolled her eyes.

She crossed his room, to lie down on the softness of his bed. "You wish, Lockwood."

His smile was still playful as he approached her, letting her mold herself against him. His fingers twirled her blond locks thoughtfully as her own tugged at the ends of his shirt with lack of anything to do.

He waited a full minute before asking. "So, what's really the matter?"

She resisted herself from badmouthing her mother. "My mom." She sighed irritably. "She wants me to stay away from you."

He didn't look surprised at all, just shrugged and stopped playing with her hair, catching her gaze with his own. "And what are you going to do?"

"What I always do – ignore her." She answered, nonchalantly, looking down again. "She doesn't know what she's talking about anyway."

"_And what is she talking about?"_

"That you're a killer." She stopped tugging on his shirt to look into those warm brown eyes that she saw were looking almost afraid at the moment, like he thought she might start believing that he was guilty too. She shook her head and said with conviction. "But you're not."

She went on, not breaking his gaze. "Even if they all think you're guilty, I will _always _believe you, Tyler."

"Why?" His voice almost croaked and her chest suddenly felt heavy, her heart gripping itself in pain.

But she knew the words were true, her very being telling her they were true. "Because I love you."

Gratefulness, surprise and pure warmth shone in his eyes and his smile was like the sun rising over the horizon. "Thank you." She let him envelope her in an embrace, his breaths hot and mixed with laughter. _"Thank you."_

_

* * *

_

_**My God, can you guys believe we finally made it to Caroline admitting her feelings? I feel it's a little rushed but when it was writing it, it just felt...right. And it was already so blatantly obvious anyway.**_

_**Just six (more or less) chapters until this story ends. We're almost done, guys!**_

_**But I have something planned. How do you all feel about an RPG Forum here in the TSTS universe. You can create your own character and basically create your own drama with them.  
**_

**_"Pack Watch" - Lady K 101 (God, I love this girl!)  
_**


	17. We Bite

_A hungry wolf at all the herd will run, In hopes, through many, to make sure of one._ **–William Congreve**

Remus Lucian was missing. This was a distressing fact that the entire pack was alerted to just a few days ago, since then panic and uncertainty had spread around like a cancer. Everyone was in fear and unsure of how to handle this situation, the disappearance of their leader.

Remus' beta was already getting stressed out from trying to keep everything together but it was all starting to fall apart at the seams because no matter a strong werewolf Brenton Wolfe was, he just didn't have it in him to lead the pack the way Remus did. Even Tyler was already showing his leadership skills in this crisis much to the Wolfe patron's ire since this only served to make him look more useless than ever.

But Tyler couldn't be blamed for that, the Lockwoods were natural Alphas, their lineage had been leading the pack for years. It was only Tyler's rightful place and Aiden's dad was deluding himself if he thought he could hang on as Alpha for any longer than was necessary, which was until Remus was found or a new Alpha was chosen. Either way Brenton Wolfe was destined to be just a Beta.

The loss of their leader just gave in more worry to the stream of murders, glaringly now obvious to be a work of their kind. It didn't just serve a threat to the citizens of the town but to the pack as well as their furry little secrets were on thin ice of being revealed to everyone around them. And no matter how _Twilight_ tried to fool them all, pitchforks and silver bullets were going to instantly be in demand.

Still, aside from the pack's worries and the town's suspicion, the only thing Caroline could focus on was Reina. The girl must be distraught with her father missing. Tyler had told her that Reina, already quite reserved as she was, was rejecting all social contact all together and her appetite greatly diminished. They would have to get her on an IV drip soon at this rate, Tyler had joked.

Tyler's been taking care of his younger cousin these past few days, getting her up in the morning, driving her to and fro from school to make sure she got home safely. Reina was a few steps short of being an invalid and this just concerned them all even more.

It was after a heinously long History test that Caroline, strengthened her resolve and went in search of her mate's cousin, walking down the long halls of Mystic Falls High for the locker near the vending machine, one that could only belong to the person she was looking for.

At finally spotting the skinny brunette, she greeted tentatively, "Hey Reina," as if the girl could break any minute. She was rewarded with a questioning raised eyebrow and electric blue eyes staring at her like she was an idiot.

_Why, of course, why would Reina not inherit the Lockwood cockiness?_

Her confidence was knocked down a notch but she persevered on, keeping herself from showing just how she was squirming right then. Out of all the wolves, Reina was definitely hardest to understand. She was quiet, aloof, mysterious. Caroline couldn't get a word out of her no matter what she tried and she'd tried a lot of things in the past.

"How are you feeling?" She asked, trying her best to keep eye contact but Reina's electric blue eyes rimmed with heavy eyeliner were just too intimidating. And she dealt with cheerleaders on a daily basis so that was something.

As usual, Reina didn't reply, only answering with a one-shouldered shrug, causing the sleeve of her loose grey top to fall a little lower and reveal more of that perfect pale skin. It was frustrating.

She sighed inwardly. "Look, I heard about your dad…"

_Yeah, like who hasn't? _

"And I just want to tell you that if you need to talk to someone…I'm here." She nodded as if to emphasize her point. "You can talk to me anytime."

No reply again. Reina was too busy staring at the contents of her locker now, having finally tired of Caroline's pathetic attempts at playing guidance counselor. Caroline decided that it was time to admit defeat and turned to walk away.

And then there was a growl.

She froze in her tracks and turned around slowly as possible, normally, people wouldn't have heard such noises but being a mate of a werewolf tended to get you in tuned to animalistic noises, ones that usually meant someone was about to bite someone's head off or chase you around to give you a terribly unwanted hug after having defeated Aiden in a mud wrestling match (_Tyler_).

She'd never quite seen Reina angry before, a little annoyed yes, usually when Caroline got too chirpy for her taste but Caroline had never seen Reina in anger as in grinding her teeth together, low growling and glaring at whatever caused her such ill will.

Caroline was about to ask what was wrong but followed Reina's gaze instead and she could swear her heart plummeted down to her stomach in shock.

Jeremy Gilbert. Reina was glaring/growling at Jeremy Gilbert.

Specifically, Reina was angry at the sight of Jeremy Gilbert sticking his tongue down his girlfriend's throat.

This seemed like the most bizarre thing ever and Caroline thought she might've read something wrong like Reina wasn't really looking at them but at the ugly poster behind them that preached about good nutrition or Reina found PDA scandalous and was angry at the blatant display of lacking in hormonal control. Or maybe, Reina was...

No, of course not. That was too outside the realm of what was reasonable and good sense. Out of all the boys in the entire town of Mystic Falls, if Reina was going to choose a mate, she could choose anybody but Jeremy Gilbert.

Jeremy, being nothing but Elena's younger brother, as he will always remain in her head, running around the Gilbert's front yard without his shorts on and screaming he was Superman at five years old, had a history of trouble in his wake. The drugs, the emo depressive state he was in after his parents' deaths, his tumulus romance with Vicki Donovan and now he was dating this weird Asian girl who no one's even heard about until a couple of weeks ago.

She didn't want to really say it aloud but fact of the matter was, Jeremy Gilbert was damaged goods.

And no matter what a 'hot smile' he had as he heard some of the other cheerleaders gush last practice, Jeremy wouldn't work with Reina. God knew what kind of children they would unleash unto this world. The thought scared her more than it should.

But still, Reina looked ready to kill as the heated PDA seemed to gain more momentum and Caroline had to hold back the shorter brunette from the waist to keep her from tearing out the Anna girl's face off.

_Wolves and their jealousy issues…_

Thankfully, Reina wasn't as strong as she would be after her first full moon which meant Caroline could still keep the girl in place no matter how much the girl struggled to commit homicide upon all those who dare touch Jeremy Gilbert. "Reina….calm down…whoa, hey, Reina!…_Reina, don't_!" Relatively speaking, of course. Caroline wasn't exactly Wonder woman.

Caroline could only wince as she helplessly watched Reina about to detangle Jeremy from his girlfriend's lips, praying to whatever deity was up there to stop Reina from getting herself a one way ticket to juvi, when Tyler seemed to just materialize from thin air and dragged his cousin away by the arm and out of the school building.

Not a second later, his voice rang through her head. _"Caroline, meet me at my car."_

She didn't even think twice as she followed their trail and within moments was in vicinity of Tyler's truck. She entered the front seat and blinked in surprise to see the rest of the pack already seated at the pack, Aiden, strapping in a disgruntled Reina.

"What's going on?" Caroline voiced out the question going through her head, feeling completely oblivious to whatever grand scheme the pack had cooked up today.

"Emergency pack meeting." Tyler answered as he started the engine. "Dad wrote us a note. We've all been let out of school early."

Caroline didn't even consider the legalities of that and kept quiet in her seat, strapping in her seatbelt and staring at the view outside the car window. The ride to Wolf's Mountain was long. It was almost sundown by the time they reached the clearing and Caroline had fallen asleep half the way.

Tyler gently nudged her awake after he turned off the engine and groggily she got out of the car, fussing over her appearance with the car's rearview mirror and basically trying to make herself resemble a human being again.

By the time, they all reached the meeting area, all the wolves and their mates present. Caroline was much more awake. It was strange seeing Aiden's dad up there on the podium instead of Reina's. It felt wrong even and she could sense that everyone felt the same, the tension was almost thick enough to cut with a knife and she suspected that Brenton Wolfe was on his last end.

The older wolf started with a small speech about keeping us all united and be able to get through this difficult crisis with strength and dignity. Caroline tuned out three seconds in.

It was when the murders were being talked about that she listened in again. Severe need to capture the killer was presented, next threatening the worst punishment on the killer if he did not fess up soon and continue his path of destruction and lastly, whoever could turn in the killer would be rewarded generously.

It was almost hateful to hear about, Brenton Wolfe's self-delusion that any of the wolves would turn in one of their own for some money or a better ranking in the lycanthropy hierarchy. Wolves were loyal to a fault even if that means doing the wrong thing to keep someone safe.

Caroline doubted they would ever find out who the murderer was.

"It could be a rogue." Conor suddenly suggested, catching the attention of everyone in the clearing, The sandy blond boy blushed underneath his tan under all the attention but continued, his voice just a tad bit shaky. "We had a rogue in our old pack." He explained. "It has the same signs as this."

A rogue? A mad werewolf?

"Are you sure about that, _puppy_?" Brenton asked, forest green eyes, the ones Aiden inherited narrowed at him thoughtfully.

Conor growled at the derogatory term and breathed in deeply to calm himself down. "Yes, I'm sure."

"Well, it looks like we may have a rogue in our hands." Brenton's smile was too relaxed, too pleasing – it could only be described as predatory. And it eerily reminded her of the way Aiden smiled at her in the forest when she found him with Sarah. It made her skin crawl.

The pack was sent into high alert after that meeting. Everyone was either a suspect or an accomplice. Caroline couldn't tell who was from whom and generally tried to keep out of it all. She wasn't usually the type of person to think of the worst in people and she didn't even want to think about the killer being someone she had classes with or lived on her street.

It was a distressing thought, one people didn't want to contemplate because the truth was everyone was liable to kill, had that animalistic urge in them to destroy and kill. The wolves were able to exercise it. But humans couldn't and that was what made them so dangerous.

"Caroline."

She almost jumped in surprise, her books falling to the ground as she tried steadying her beating heart. Glaring in annoyance at the cerulean-eyed brunette, she bent down to gather her things and the other girl helped, handing over her things and generally not minding Caroline's prickly behavior.

_The stress was definitely getting to you, Caro._

"What do you want, Riley?" She asked, a little too impatiently but Riley didn't seem to mind.

Just four words but that answer was more than enough. "I want to help."

* * *

**I blame life for being difficult and hectic for late updates.**

**And yeah, Riley's back. **

**Kudos to those who guessed who Reina's mate was. Here's a virtual cookie.**

**And is Mr. Wolfe not just the biggest douche there is? I hope I don't hear any 'Like father, like son' comments. The Aiden hate is unseemly.**


	18. Fleas

_I'm hairy on the inside _**-Angela Carter, Company of Wolves.**

Riley's sudden interest in helping the pack quite honestly sent off Caroline's suspicion radar. Several conspiracy theories had formed in her mind all mostly having something to do with Aiden and his father, as they being her primary suspects, and Caroline was about ready to tell Riley to go away and leave them well enough alone but that somehow got distorted.

Because Riley looked at her with such longing and sadness that Caroline couldn't say no. She'd seen the same thing in herself when she and Tyler were on the outs. Being away from one's mate could be one of the most painful things there were, a hollow emptiness in you that couldn't be filled no matter what you did.

It was amazing how long Riley held the way she did.

And so there they were in the somewhat small office of the school newspaper, riffling through newspapers and sifting through articles on the internet, trying to find leads on the murder. So far, all they gathered about the two murders were that they were both women under the age of twenty, tanned, exhibit somewhat promiscuous behavior (Riley's words, not hers), went to the same school and had been involved with Tyler Lockwood at some point.

All pretty useless information when it came to proving Tyler's innocence and who the real murderer was.

It was all starting to become rather hopeless and it wasn't till the third hour that Caroline decided it was time to take her leave and go home. She still had some homework to get done and she'd promised to meet Bonnie later for some girl time.

She was in the middle of collecting her things when Riley stopped going through the news articles and asked, "How's Conor?"

The question almost made the blond freeze and she stared up into bright cerulean eyes, usually sharp and determined were now almost vulnerable. She asked back slowly, "Why do you care, Riley?"

The brunette tried to play it off, shrugging and answering back in a careless voice. "Because I just do." She spun the computer chair back to the computer screen and get back to her search. Caroline stared at the back of her short dark hair and tried to figure out what was going through this girl's head.

It wasn't until she noticed Riley's hand shaking on the mouse and her quickened breathing that Caroline realized the darker girl was nervous. Nervous about what though?

And the answer was simple really.

Caroline tried to bit back a smile but it was just too difficult since it was just so…cute.

Riley missed Conor, easy as that.

Placing her bag back on the table, she side stepped the computer table to take the chair beside Riley eyes twinkling as she regarded the girl with a knowing smile. A second or two passed before Riley looked back at her apprehensively, eyes narrowing in annoyance.

"What?" She almost bit out and Caroline resisted the urge to giggle.

She replied in a sing-song. "_You–miss–Conor_!"

And this just further annoyed the other girl.

"It's not my fault it's this voodoo magic werewolf stuff!" Riley sputtered out, blushing red from embarrassment which didn't really help her case. "I just can't seem to help myself…sometimes I can just _hear_ him, small idle thoughts he probably doesn't even bother remembering. And then other times, he's…it feels like he's just _right there_ and I can almost touch him." She sighed, eyes weary, beaten, tired, lost. "I tried to stay away, Caroline, but _it's hard_. Incredibly hard because every time I remember him, my heart keeps breaking into tiny little pieces. And it doesn't make sense!" She shook her head vigorously, eyes almost angry. "I don't even know Conor! But why do I miss him so much?"

Caroline stared into those cerulean eyes and understood perfectly. No one could blame Riley for being afraid of all this wasn't what was considered by the society they were raised in. Werewolf boys declaring their undying devotion to you just was a little hard to swallow at first.

"It's all just voodoo magic werewolf stuff." She answered finally. "You'll get used to it?"

Riley looked unsure, ringing her hands on the edges of her top. "Will I?"

"Of course." Caroline smiled at the girl, trying to reassure her and Riley smiled back, untwisting her fingers from her top and turning back to her computer.

Caroline had gone back to gathering her things and was a foot away from the door when it swung open, Tyler's dark eyes staring at her in question as she tried to restart her heart. Stupid werewolves and their silent movements.

"I was supposed to give you a ride, remember?" He told her but more for Riley's benefit really.

"I hadn't forgotten," She replied. "FYI, I was on my way to the football field."

"When? Christmas? I've been waiting for nearly an hour, I thought you might've slipped over the janitor's mop or something again and hit your head."

She flushed. "That happened just that one time!"

"Yeah but what's to stop you from doing it again?"

She aimed for his head but he dodged her, laughing at her loudly as she tried to land more blows to his person but only succeeded on injuring her hands with the hard planes of his body. Why in the hell was he made of damn stone?

It wasn't until he had captured both her wrists that she was forced to stop, one his hands holding her wrists together while his other took her bag from her, hoisting it over his shoulder and dragging her out of the room, sparing Riley only with a polite nod as he went.

Damn infuriating werewolf.

He kept her handcuffed like a convict until they reached his car, her muttering curses at him as they went. Finally releasing her, he reached for his car keys and unlocked the doors, handing her bag as she took shotgun, still shooting daggers at him.

He must be a masochist because he had the gall to pinch her cheek, telling her, "God, you're adorable, Forbes" before starting the car.

She tried to bite him. He kissed her cheek.

This was becoming some really bizarre cycle.

She settled for ignoring him instead for the rest of the ride home, knowing now that violence just didn't work with someone like Tyler Lockwood. He got them out of the parking lot and she stared into the scenery outside, the twilight arriving with subtle grace.

It was silence. Pure wonderful silence.

But silence didn't work either because he decided to get her to talk anyway.

"So, what were you and Fox working on?" He asked, trying to sound conversational but she knew what he was doing – digging.

She weighed out telling him the truth but thought against it after realizing he'd never let her go on with her investigation if he found out. "Just some school stuff."

Too bad he can see right through her.

Damn infuriating werewolf.

"I can tell when you're lying you know."

Her eyebrows furrowed and she crossed her arms over her chest in annoyance. "It's not fair using the link for these kinds of things." She told him. "I deserve some semblance of privacy."

He kept his eyes on the road but smiled. "I don't need the link, Caroline. You're just the worst liar I know."

"I am not!" She outraged but he just laughed it off.

"Yes, you are." He argued. "You're worse than Conor."

See? Damn infuriating werewolf.

She grumbled out some few choice curses and went back to her window watching, resolutely vowing to ignore him from then on.

And for a few moments they were quiet and Caroline didn't hear a word from him until the longest time. Until finally, her anger dissipated and she let herself relax, dropping her arms and letting herself go limp against the chair, eyes languid at the moving scenery.

She almost jumped in surprise at Tyler's warm and soft hand capturing her own, squeezing to get her attention and she stared up at him questioningly, noting she could easily take her hand back if she wanted.

"If it's about the murders," He started. "Please butt out of it."

She was about to protest but another squeeze on her hand told her she needed to listen to him. Just this once.

"I don't want you getting hurt," He continued and finally turned to her, eyes pleading. "_Please_."

Tyler Lockwood never said please. He asked, charmed, demanded, and even threatened when he wanted something but he never begged. He was too proud for that.

But there in the car, his chocolate brown eyes pleading, his hand soft and warm, he was saying that word he had always been to proud to use to her. Because he wanted her safe like he always had.

It dawned at her with clarity why he came to pick her up at the office, he was worried that the killer might've gotten her and searched for her to see if she was okay.

Her heart swelled and she squeezed his hand back. "Okay."

Relief flooded him and he squeezed her hand one more time before giving his entire focus back on driving.

And there in the silence of his car, they both swallowed her lie.

* * *

**I've been busy with school and prom lately. In fact, prom just ended...an hour ago and it was a lot of fun. Yay.**

**Missed the Forwood banter. Story ending soon. Sigh.**

**I've decided, the sequel will be in River's P.O.V and the prequel in Tyler's. Yup.  
**


	19. Werewolf Blues

_Once you arrive at the point that you understand it, the emotional factor is darker than some of the saddest blues stuff._ **-Robert Quine**

It was a curious thing.

Caroline suddenly being in demand after becoming Tyler Lockwood's mate, not that she wasn't already busy before with all the committees she was on but no one outwardly went out of their way to see her unless it was urgent. Planning and damage control had always been one of the things she bested Elena in and she was proud of that.

She should consider a career in Public Relations.

She was in the middle of that thought as she half-listened to Jeremy Gilbert talk about Reina and how her presence around him lately had not been making his girlfriend happy. Caroline resisted from telling him that the feeling was mutual.

She felt kind of sorry for him to be honest, his dark brown eyes almost pleading as he asked her 'please, Caroline, can you help me?' and she was suddenly reminded of his five year old self way back when he used to hang around her and his sister, pouting at her to give him her cookie.

Funny how some things don't change.

"So…" He uttered out, expression questioning and she almost felt guilty about shooting him down. Almost.

She never did give him her cookie no matter how much he pouted.

"Nope, sorry, Jer." She chirped. "You're on your own for this one." With a bright smile, she waved him goodbye and turned to get to her next class. He followed her anyway.

"But Caroline," He almost whined. "I thought since you and Reina were sort of, um, friends...I thought you could help me."

She stopped in her tracks and he barely stopped himself from colliding with her back and sending them sprawling on the hallway floor.

Caroline was quite sick of dealing with mates in denial. It was a waste of time and emotional torture. Why couldn't they just all see that these things usually ended in the same scenario? A happy fucking ending that they seem adamant to avoid.

With a sigh, she turned back to him, ready to tell him just what she thought.

"Jeremy Grayson Gilbert," She said in her best mother hen voice and using his full name and making him wince at both. "Now I know that you've always been like a brother to me. But you're a grown boy now and you shouldn't be asking me to be doing these kinds of things for you." She enunciated slowly like he was ten years younger than his real age. "I suggest just talking to Reina or even both Reina and Anna and just settling whatever conflicted feelings you're having towards them."

His eyes were wide from disbelief and he was quick to deny it all. "I don't have any conflicted feelings!"

"That's what we all say, Jeremy." She continued. "And believe me, denial does not help."

He sputtered out a few syllables, all not quite making sense and he was beginning to flush red from embarrassment. She wished she had a camera.

"Here's my tip to you." She took out a pen and paper from her bag and wrote down clear instructions. "Rent a copy of _The Howling_ and after watching and you find yourself not freaked out, we'll talk." She handed the piece of paper too him, smiling widely at his dropped jaw.

With a cheery 'bye!' she was gone, leaving the younger boy staring at her. She was already at the end of the hall when he finally shouted, "What does that even mean!"

"_Someone's in a chipper mood."_ Tyler's voice rang in her head.

"_I just messed with Jeremy's head for a bit."_ She inwardly smiled. _"It's quite fun."_

"_Did you have too much coffee again? Because you're perkier than usual."_

"_I might've stopped at Starbucks on the way to school."_

"_Ah, and the mystery is solved."_

She rolled her eyes. _"I have to go. Class." _

English was a mostly boring class especially when they had to read Macbeth and were forced to act out the scenes in the play. It's not that Caroline hated acting. She just hated speaking out lines in _Ye Old English_ and trying to imitate the behavior of Lady Macbeth who she had deemed a ruthless social climber early in the story.

The only real people who could even stand the madness of it all were Elena and Stefan, the bookworms who breathed in death guys' works like oxygen. Unfortunately, none of them were in her class and she was stuck doing a scene with _Matt _of all people who was probably the worst actor in class.

And yet, he got to play Macbeth. Oh the irony.

She didn't think it would be too awkward to do the play with Matt, which was until he hugged her in greeting as his character arrived home from war. She struggled between the familiarities of his touch from the uncomfortable pervasive feeling of it since thoughts of Tyler were screaming at her from the back of her mind.

Thankfully, he didn't share this class with her either.

"Can we talk later?" He whispered in her ear before they parted and the look in his blue eyes made saying no impossible.

That was how she found herself waiting near the football field after class, constantly readjusting the scarf around her neck to shield her from the cold and wondering to herself if this was such a good idea. Things had just gotten better with Tyler and she didn't really want to ruin any of it.

But, she reasoned with herself, they needed closure and the sooner it was, the less it would hurt in the long run.

"Hey, thanks for waiting." Matt greeted her, hair still wet and smelling of soap from the shower he probably had in the locker room. "Sorry I took so long but coach wouldn't let me go."

"It's okay," She replied, taking the seat on the stands and he moved to take the one beside her. He was sitting too close though she scooted away. She ignored the hurt look in his eyes.

"So, what do you want to talk about?" She asked, not looking him in the eye.

"I just wanted to talk about…could you please look at me?" His voice was pleading and she complied, trying to shut down the part of her heart that still mourned for him. "Caroline, I…"

"Matt," She interrupted him. She couldn't hear those words, it would hurt too much and would make her remember all those feelings for him she'd already buried because she didn't want him anymore, couldn't love him anymore. "I love Tyler."

The look in his eyes was pure, raw pain. Fresh like a new wound and the normally clear blue shuttered up like barricaded windows, trying to hide how vulnerable he really was, how she just stabbed him in the heart.

"A-Are you sure?" He stammered voice almost breaking, low like he was having a hard time swallowing.

"Yes," She answered and continued much quieter. "I'm sorry."

He didn't say another word, just tried to reach for her hand but she couldn't give him a lifeline to hold on, he needed to move on, both of them. Neither of them could live in this stalemate anymore.

Neither uttered a goodbye, he just simply stood up and walked away and she didn't dare watch him.

A part of her heart bled but the rest sighed with relief. She swallowed down the tears that were welling up in her eyes and stood up, walking down the stands and brisk walking against the cold January air. The air felt good in her lungs and she breathed it in as she tried to calm herself down.

She walked and walked until she reached the parking lot, finding her car and fishing her keys out of her pocket. Quickly, she got in the front seat and clutched the steering wheel tightly in both hands, staring out the windshield blindly as she tried to tamp down her emotions. How she wished she could just be numb.

"_Caroline?" _

There was Tyler, probably having felt the strong wave of emotion coming from her.

"_I'm fine."_

"_Are you sure?"_

She knew he'd be there in a second if she asked. But she didn't want him there right now. She wanted to be alone.

"_Yes."_

She made sure she put enough conviction in the thought to give him the clue to get out of her head and thankfully, he did.

Finally alone in her head again, she tried to control all the emotions going through her then and the summersaults they performed against each other, toppling the other over until she could barely understand what she felt. God, her head hurt.

She figured out after a minute that the only way she could forget about this tete-a-tete with Matt was some much needed distraction and she knew she promised Tyler but…she'd deal with him later.

Digging her phone out of her bag, she quickly dialed a number and waited for an answer.

"Hello? Reina, listen…."

* * *

**Another filler chapter but the next one will be more interesting. Exactly four more chapters left.**

**And I might've neglected to tell you guys that after this story's done, I won't immediately be working on the sequel. I'm going to start on another Forwood fic, actually Tyler/Caroline/OC but I'm excited to get started on it and hopefully you guys will like it as well. It's called Miseria Cantare.**

**Here's the teaser trailer for it: **http:/ www. you tube. com/watch?v=rP-xdnRDpsg


	20. Trouble

_It never troubles the wolf how many the sheep may be._ **- Virgil**

The Lucian residence was even farther away from town then Aiden's. The trip there was an hour long which Caroline was more than grateful for because the monotony of it helped calmed her down that by the time she arrived at the classically designed house.

Rose Lucian had been an Italian beauty whose family had been in architecture and reconstruction of old Renaissance era buildings. The house's design was made by Mrs. Lucian's brother and she had done some of the staccato work herself.

Caroline had always thought the house to be so beautiful and fascinating. All the hard work put into it with the high ceilings and polished stone walls. The house had always felt warm for anyone who entered it.

And then Rose Lucian died. Suddenly all the warmth was gone and Caroline remembered, that was the day Reina stopped talking.

Caroline knocked on the large doorknob of the front door, the deep and loud banging sound it made felt almost foreboding like she was entering a haunted house. She wondered how Reina felt living in that house all alone with her mother gone and her father missing. She imagined it to be very lonely.

Caroline shivered from the cold as she waited for Reina to answer the door, she didn't really like waiting outside but with such a big house, she wondered how Reina got anywhere without tiring.

Her breaths were cold puffs in the air and she pocketed her bare hands into her coat's pockets, staring the front door to open with pure will alone. The seconds seemed to tick by before it finally opened, revealing the skinny brunette she was waiting for.

Reina had forgone the eyeliner today instead wearing a dark shade of red lip gloss that reminded Caroline of Reina's mother's namesake.

"Hey Reina," Caroline greeted, trying to smile and shiver at the same time.

Reina didn't answer as per usual, only a slight titling of her head served as response as she let Caroline in her home.

Hair wild, loose blue top and dark printed stockings with those sneakers she was never without, Caroline wondered where Reina got her sense of style from. Mrs. Lucian had always worn pretty bright dresses that contrasted nicely with her olive skin and long dark hair.

Caroline couldn't help as her eyes strained to photos on the walls, most of which were of Reina's mother and her when she was younger. Reina had been twelve when her mother passed away, another victim of the town's numerous 'animal attacks', she never did quite recover.

Caroline was led through the various halls of the Lucian residence, remembering a story or two when she was younger and before Reina came. Aunt Rose used to babysit Tyler and her, 'practicing' as she called it and Caroline had spent some of her childhood playing hide and seek in the various rooms and running around the garden playing tag.

She shivered and it wasn't from the cold. The house felt like some kind of tomb now, cold and lifeless. How did Reina stand it? Why didn't she stay with the Lockwoods when Mrs. Lockwood offered her a room to stay in?

Caroline could only fathom why.

Reina stopped right outside one of the numerous dark wood doors, unhesitatingly entering the room and gesturing for Caroline to follow. It wasn't one of the other studies. Caroline knew this was Remus' instantly. It had that vibe of being used quite often with the numerous papers on the desk and the faint smell of tobacco in the air.

Reina made her way across the room to the fireplace, pressing some kind of switch on the hearth that lit a fire up instantly. She made sure that the fire kept going with one of the hot pokers before leaving Caroline to herself.

For the first few minutes, Caroline went about the room, trying to shake off that feeling of trespassing and checking out the few knick knacks Remus kept in his office. Remus had always been a bit more quirky than Mr. Lockwood and there were a few souvenirs from other countries and other odd things Caroline couldn't quite describe or determine where they came from.

She walked the length of the room, eyes taking in everything and feet moving against the carpet and floorboards until she reached the massive bookshelves near the windows. Caroline grabbed one of the many folders and opened it, finding a file on the D'Aousts, one of the many werewolf families in town.

The file told how long they had been living in Mystic Falls, their ranking in the pack, how many members there were in the family, how many were wolves, and who their mates were. There were notes here and there about their first transformations, medical backgrounds, school records….

Caroline closed the file and returned it to the shelf. She started going through the other files, realizing quickly that the files were arranged in alphabetical order. She gave close attention to the medical backgrounds especially the ones with a violent history. Any one of them could be the rogue if Conor's theory was true and all the answers were held in those files.

She stopped when she reached River's folder. She wasn't sure whether it was because she felt that she'd be invading River's privacy as her friend or maybe because she knew that whatever was in the folder would not be very peachy but she decided to forgo reading the file and moved on.

Mr. Lockwood had his own folder too and Caroline read about the symptoms that Richard Lockwood had failed to exhibit at a young age to show he was a werewolf. There were many suspections that he wouldn't be able to turn but it wasn't concrete until his seventeenth birthday came and go and the only thing he received was shame.

A Lockwood that didn't shift, it was thought of to be such a tragedy, especially when his younger brother went through the shift and was considered worthier than him even when the younger Lockwood decided to leave town a week after his high school graduation.

Tyler's folder had been a source of amusement and she laughed at all the small notes Remus had made, detailing Tyler's behavior and pigheadedness. Caroline could imagine the older man, annoyed at his nephew, writing down the little notes whilst cursing the Lockwood brat to hell.

Tyler could never control his mouth.

She briefly read through Reina's folder which was mostly empty since she had yet to shift, it was only school records and the medical notes from when Reina used to get sick all the time when she was small and her diagnosis of dyslexia.

Putting back the file, she was about to read through the Michaud's folders when she noticed the folder wedged between Reina's folder and the Michaud's.

Blinking in surprise, she pulled it out and opened it, her eyebrows furrowing in a frown as she read through it.

**Name: Sarah Emily W. Lucian**

**Age: 18**

**Father: Remus Arthur Lucian**

**Mother: Maia Celeste Walsh**

_Oh my God!_

Caroline's jaw dropped in surprise, her eyes widening and her hands shook in surprise, almost dropping the folder had her fingers not been gripping it so tightly.

She couldn't believe what she just read. It had to be some kind of mistake.

**Name: Sarah Emily W. Lucian**

**Age: 18**

**Father: Remus Arthur Lucian**

**Mother: Maia Celeste Walsh**

It all pointed to the same fact. Her eyes felt like they were being deceived, it was some kind of trick, a joke but the proof was there in her hands, practically screaming at her to believe.

She had the hardest time forming the simplest thought as the shock rocked her off balance, it was all too much like a punch in the a gut and strangely she still felt numb from the surprise, not knowing what to feel about this new acquired information.

Sarah was Remus' daughter and Reina's half-sister.

Suddenly, she remembered the scene from the forest a few weeks ago with Sarah came into mind, her hair wild, dressed in that dirty black slip….

It all started to make sense.

Sarah was a werewolf.

And as Caroline went back to reading the file, what she suspected and even feared was true.

**Name: Sarah Emily W. Lucian**

**Age: 18**

**Father: Remus Arthur Lucian**

**Mother: Maia Celeste Walsh**

**Status: Shifted**

**Mate: Aiden Gregory Wolfe**

_**

* * *

**_

_**I know, what a cliffhanger! But I've been planning this big reveal for weeks and truthfully somebody already figured it out (Lady K 101, you mind-reader, you!) and I'm kinda happy I'm finally at this point. Three more chapters, woo!  
**_


	21. Dire Wolf

_It is madness for sheep to talk peace with a wolf._ **– Thomas Fuller**

Caroline had been staring at the folder in her hands for a full minute before her brain finally kicked in and she snatched her bag from Remus' office desk, shoving Sarah's folder in it and running out of the room.

Her mind was a flurry of emotions, shock and anxiety overcoming her. All she knew was that Sarah may just be the missing piece she needed to solve this puzzle of a mystery.

There were just so many questions that needed to be answered. Why did nobody know (except Remus obviously) that Sarah was a werewolf? Why was Sarah's identity as Remus' daughter kept secret? How come the file said her mate was Aiden when he was River's?

It was all so confusing and she needed answer, she needed to get to the pack. She needed Tyler.

And she needed to tell him about her new discovery. She just knew she had to tell him, he would figure this all out.

The moment she reached the hallway leading to the front door, she knew she was alone. Reina had left the house and left her a message using the bowl of scrabble pieces Aunt Rose used to teach them to spell with. She read the small message on the mahogany table.

F-E-S-T-I-V-A-L

Of course, the Founder's Day Festival, that was tonight. How could she forget? She had to watch Blair Fell be Miss Mystic Falls and wave on her parade float like the damn queen of England. It was almost painful to watch. That and all the metallic from the Lady Gaga theme she chose had been nauseating.

_Back to business, Caro._

Shaking all thoughts of snooty Fells from her mind, she brisk walked out of the door and all the way to her car, starting the engine and getting out of the driveway as fast as she could.

Everyone would be at the Founder's Day Festival, especially Tyler since his parents as always were hosting the event. She needed to talk to Tyler and she thought to herself, maybe even to Mrs. Lockwood. Sarah was technically her niece. It was possible she knew about this well-hidden piece of info.

With more urgency, she stepped on the pedal more, the scenery blurring past her in blurs and dark shapes. It was still so dark. She could barely make out the view from the windshield.

It was already too late before she felt the car crash into someone, causing the car to swerve away from the impact and hitting a nearby tree. She groaned from the pain as she felt something warm and sticky dripping down the sides of her face. She reached up to touch whatever it was and saw red coating her fingertips.

She was bleeding.

And spots were dancing before her eyes, darkening her vision as everything started to become foggy in her ears. She was just so tired. She needed to sleep.

_No, not here._

But she was so tired. Just for a little bit and she'll keep herself awake for…for whatever it was she needed to do.

_Caroline, wake up! You can't fall asleep here. It's dangerous._

You're being silly. It's perfectly fine.

_Caroline!_

Just fine and dandy.

The black shapes were becoming larger now, covering the splotches of light and color in her vision. A particular shadow was moving closer to the car and she didn't know if it was one of the spots or a person.

But it didn't really matter because in the next second, all she saw was black.

It was later that she realized a peculiar thing. Waking up in a foreign place was particularly disconcerting especially when you were tied to a chair and in some kind of dungeon. Or she guessed it was a dungeon from the chains and stone walls.

"Finally awake, I see." A feminine voice said, making her look up. Her head was pounding with a headache and looking up into the lights was almost nauseating.

"Sarah?" She croaked out at the sight of the brunette, her voice hoarse in her throat.

Sarah smiled at her, that predator's smile that always made her skin crawl. You'd think she'd be Brenton Wolfe's daughter not Remus'. "Hello Caroline."

She was almost afraid to ask. "Sarah, what do you want?"

"A lot of things," Sarah answered. "Acknowledgement, love, revenge…and I'm getting there too." She shrugged, still smiling maliciously.

Caroline could only furrow her eyebrows in confusion. "What do you mean by that?" And with a more dreadful thought, "What have you done, Sarah?"

"What I needed to do." The mania was almost shining in her electric blue eyes, Reina's eyes, Remus' eyes…how could she not have noticed before? "They were all in the way and they needed to pay for what they put me through."

"Pay for what? What did they do?" Caroline could feel the fear blossoming within her, the intensity in Sarah's eyes neither gentle nor safe. Sarah was mentally unstable, Caroline realized and she needed to be careful.

She held up her folder, detailing most of her private information. "Why? Didn't this tell you everything you needed to know?" The brunette discarded the folder at Caroline's feet.

"Not really," Caroline replied rhetorically. "Remus was quite vague about you."

"Well of course he was," Sarah had the gall to roll her eyes. "He tries not to spend as much time with me as possible."

Caroline pressed on, her curiosity getting the better of her. "Why didn't he tell us, Sarah?"

Sarah's expression darkened, a scowl on her pouty lips. "He's too much of a coward." She scoffed. "I was a mistake, he said. I wasn't wanted. My mother was just a one night stand gone wrong." Her jaw tightened as emotions started to overcome her. "Not like _Reina_ and her mother of course." Her voice was dripping with unhidden jealousy.

"But you're older than Reina..."

"Yes and so," Sarah practically hissed in annoyance. "It doesn't matter because in his eyes, in the pack's eyes, I was practically a _mongrel_."

Caroline could feel sympathy blooming in her, behind all that anger, the sadness in Sarah's eyes were unmistakable. But she still so confused and her head was throbbing. Or maybe that was from the head injury…

"The pack knew," Sarah continued. "Some of them anyway, mostly the older wolves"

Caroline found swallowing that new piece of information hard to swallow. The pack knew about Sarah and they saw it fit to hide from the rest of them. "Why didn't they tell us?"

Sarah didn't bother to look at her as she answered her voice devoid of emotion. "I was a blemish on daddy dearest's perfect record. They thought that news of his mongrel child would put his rule in danger, some of the other wolves would rebel against him."

Caroline kept her eyes on Sarah's form as the darker girl walked to the other end of the cell. "Brenton Wolfe already had his eye on being Alpha the moment he moved his family here. It was only a matter of time before a usurping."

Sarah picked something off from the ground. Caroline couldn't see what it was from the poor lighting. "Lost story short, they decided my mother should keep her mouth shut or they'd do it for her. I grew up not knowing who or what I really was." Sarah kept the item behind her back as she walked back to where Caroline was tied up, electric blue eyes piercing. "Of course, that changed on the full moon after my seventeenth birthday."

Caroline stared into those dark pools of midnight blue as Sarah crouched down to her knees to be on eye level with her. "I shifted, all alone in the woods, screaming my lungs out for somebody, _anybody_ to help me but nobody did. I waited and waited as my bones rearranged themselves and my body became something else but nobody came." Her eyes were two twin pools of blue fire. "Can you imagine what that was like, Caroline?"

No, she really couldn't. And she couldn't reply back as her tongue felt swollen in her mouth, her throat constricting.

"They wouldn't even let me have Aiden," Sarah's voice was oddly muffled now, distorted from pain. "He's my mate, not that _fucking whore_'s, mine." Sarah bit her lips, tears pooling in her eyes and Caroline realized. Sarah loved Aiden. "My birthday came too late and _stupid _pack law."

Caroline felt sorry for Sarah, she really did. For how Remus treated her, how the pack treated her and most of all, what Caroline already knew Sarah ended up doing because of all her anger.

"Did you kill Vicki and Aimee?" She asked quietly, too afraid of the answer.

Sarah's smirk was almost self-gratifying. "Just a few of the many."

All pity she felt was suddenly replaced by cold-blooded fear. Sarah was a confirmed killer now and Caroline realized with horror, she was in terrible danger.

"Sarah…"

"_Sa-rah_…" The brunette mocked back in a sing-song. "Did you know that fear has a scent?" Her voice was barely above a whisper, like a sweet promise before death. "It's one the reasons why a predator can't stop chasing its prey."

Caroline felt the fear spreading around her system, infecting her blood cells with it and her muscles froze into place. Fear was a scent was it? She was a factory of it then.

Sarah let out a laugh. Low and filled with dark humor. "Humans are such funny things. So easily scared." Sarah finally showed whatever she was hiding behind her back and Caroline's eyes widened in surprise to see Remus' ring, the one only Alphas wore and was passed down. And she realized in unabashed terror, the silver band and moonstone were covered in dark red blood.

"You killed Remus." She stated in shock, the new revelation giving her the ability to speak. "You killed your own _father_."

"I killed a lot of people." The wolf girl said flippantly. "And I'm going to kill even more tonight."

That sent Caroline's heart racing. More people? "What do you mean?"

Sarah's eyes held almost mischief. "Not me directly anyway. Just some vampires with bullets and a lot of wolfsbane."

_Tyler._

The thought of him made Caroline's heart clench. Sarah was going to get the pack killed and for what? Her own misguided revenge for the abuse she was treated with and now Caroline was going to lose the boy she loved and all the other people that became so important to her in the past few months.

Caroline couldn't let this happen, she had to do something.

But she was tied to a chair with her hands behind her back and she wouldn't be able to take Sarah's speed and strength add in her head injury and Caroline wouldn't be able to be much help to anyone.

Still, Caroline knew she had to do something – _anything_.

However, before Caroline could even think of a plan, Sarah pulled out a gun from inside her leather jacket.

"You do realize I can't let you live." Sarah explained almost regretfully. She smiled at the blonde one last time, that cruel predator's smile. "Goodbye, Caroline."

A gunshot rang in the air.

Caroline screamed.

* * *

**So, I got most of my schoolwork done but exams are coming up. Yay, another thing to keep me from updating! **

**Just two more chapters left though. Ah, the joys of joys! **


	22. Hour of the Wolf

_There's always the hyena of morality at the garden gate, and the real wolf at the end of the street._ **–David Herbert Lawrence**

It happened so fast, like a blur of sounds, lights and colors. Caroline had stared into Sarah's eyes, electric blue and promising her death, her finger ready to pull the trigger on the gun and blow her brains out. And Sarah was about to, she knew it.

But then at the last minute, River and Aiden came running down from the stairs into the cell, River throttling the other wolf girl to the ground without a second thought.

Caroline watched in stunned silence as the two werewolves scuffled on the ground, scratching at each other's faces, delivering kicks and elbowing each other to get a hold on the gun.

Caroline was vaguely aware of Aiden trying to untie her ropes, swearing at Sarah's complicated knot work. "I wasn't a damn boy scout…" He muttered but Caroline didn't pay too much attention to him.

"You fucking bitch!" Sarah hissed as River overpowered her and landed a particularly strong hit to her jaw, blood started to seep from her cut lip. This just made the brunette angrier and she kicked River away and prepared to shoot at the older girl.

The gun shot rang loudly in Caroline's ears and she screamed in surprise.

But Sarah had missed and River tackled her to the ground before she could pull the trigger again. Sarah let out a frustrated scream and tried to scratch at River's eyes, scarring the smooth tanned flesh of her cheek instead. Caroline noted with slight disgust the delight gleaming in Sarah's eyes at the sight of the blood.

The bloodlust gave Sarah more power and she punched River in the gut, distracting the other wolf girl enough to switch their positions with River and with the older girl finally beneath her, she cocked the gun again. "Any last words, skank?" She smiled maliciously.

Caroline's heart plummeted. They had to do something, _now_! "Aiden!"

River smiled back as kindly at the girl on top of her. "Yeah, fuck you." She jibed, earning a scowl from Sarah who aimed the gun to her forehead.

_OhmyGodOhmyGodOhmyGod – I can't watch this! River!_

Caroline knew from the determined gleam in Sarah's eyes that she was going to kill River, it was impossible for her not to and the blonde was only able to spare one last sad thought River before she closed her eyes, too much of a coward to see her friend die.

But the gunshot didn't come.

There was only the sound of a bone snapping and the thud of a body falling to the ground.

Caroline opened her eyes slowly, fearful for what she would see.

Sarah's limp body lay on the ground a few feet from where River was still lying on her back, the brunette's head turned at a strange angle, the gun useless in her had. River's eyes were trained on Aiden just a few feet from her, on his knees and shaking, his hands clenched into tight fists.

"Aiden…" River croaked out, her voice filled with worry. She moved to get up, get to her mate before he fell to pieces.

"I…I killed her." Aiden's voice was filled with disbelief at what he did, his forest green eyes wide and glassy. "I killed my mate." He let out a laugh, empty, lifeless. "I'm a murderer."

River crawled on her knees towards her mate, pulling him into his arms effortlessly. He clung to her like a child as she tried to appease him, shushing him as he babbled about what he had done.

"It's my fault, I-I killed her and now she's…"

"Ssshh, no , no, it's not." She murmured softly, her fingers in his hair as she rocked him like an infant. "No, no, it's not your fault…"

"Yes it is." He kept protesting. "It's my entire fault."

And then his eyes met Caroline's. Those eyes, such a bright shade of green that always reminded her of the woods were haunted now, hollow and Caroline shivered.

Riley came down the stairs a second later, entering the cell and her eyes widening at the scene before her. "I was waiting outside in the car and then I heard a gunshot." She said lamely, eyes darting between Sarah's body and Aiden's broken state. When her eyes landed on Caroline, she immediately ran to her, untying the last of Aiden's work and setting her wrists finally free.

But Caroline couldn't even mind the aching in her wrists from the tight ropes, still reeling from the shock of what just happened.

"What happened?" Riley asked her in a whisper.

Caroline still couldn't speak but the moonlight streaming to the cell's small window reminded her of something. She just couldn't remember what it was and only when she saw Remus' blood-covered ring on the ground did she remember.

The pack.

But where were they? At the Founder's Festival? But there were so many people there, the… the vampires (and God, she should not be so surprised at their existence, she's dating a werewolf after all) would cause too much of a scene if they tried to kill the wolves there.

It would have to be somewhere secluded, somewhere far away from people…like the woods.

"Riley, what is it today?" Caroline asked urgently.

The darker girl stared at her oddly before answering. "January 29th, why?"

"River," She called and the girl looked up, still rocking Aiden in her arms. "It's the full moon tonight, right?"

River stared at her with as much confusion as Riley but nodded, confirming what she said. "It's the Wolf Moon to be precise."

Caroline inwardly started panicking at that. She stood up, ignoring the slight wooziness caused by her head injury. She almost fell down if not for Riley who steadied her.

"Whoa, hey, Caroline, take it easy."

She tugged off the cerulean-eyed girl. "We need to go _now_."

"What's wrong, Caroline?" River asked, even Aiden was looking at her like she'd grown two heads right in front of their eyes.

"The pack's in danger and we need to get to Wolf Mountain before it's too late."

That seemed to snap everyone to attention and quite soon they were in Aiden's car, driving at a speed that would surely get them arrested had not Caroline's mom and all her deputies' been busy at the festival. For this Caroline was both happy and unhappy for.

The ride to the mountain felt longer than usual but that could be because Caroline was practically bouncing in her seat in anxiety, fearing the worst of the worst already.

_Please God, don't let it be too late!_

Thankfully, the mountain finally came into view and Caroline had the half mind to let Aiden park the car before opening the passenger door and sprinting out, ignoring the others calling her name as she ran into the woods.

The clearing was empty when she arrived there. Things left discarded in a hurry, the candles and lamps often lit for the pack meetings were left abandoned on the ground. The pack must've been attacked in the middle of their preparations.

They were caught off-guard and without a clue.

Not really sure what she was looking for, Caroline started to look around trying to find some hint to which direction the wolves might've ran. She didn't exactly have super senses to rely on, all she had was her wits and the proper use of that was becoming difficult as her panic escalated.

She needed to find them. She needed to find Tyler. Where was Tyler?

"_Tyler?"_ She tried the link but there was no reply.

She tried again, trying to put what she could of her focus into it. _"Tyler!" _

Still no reply. She bit back a sob and kept trying. _"Tyler, please? Where are you? Tyler!"_

There was no reply and Caroline felt the tears start to pool in her eyes. She was going to lose Tyler, she was going to lose the boy she loved and she didn't even get the chance to fight for him. This was unfair, this was so fucking unfair!

She was close to collapsing down to her knees, the sorrow of it all crushing her two-fold before a voice, his voice rang in her head and it sounded like music to her ears.

"_Caroline?"_

"_Tyler!"_ She felt that little spark of hope being ignited in her again. _"Where are you?"_

"_I-I don't know…"_ He sounded confused now, unfocused. _"It's just so dark here. Really cold and dark."_

The strings of desperation tugged her down and she was drowning, drowning in the pool of dark water. _"Tyler, try to focus, where are you?"_

"_I can't see, Caroline. The vampires shot wolfsbane at us."_ His thoughts sounded more melancholy. _"The_ _others…where are they? We were so afraid, we were running and running, we had to be fast because they were going to catch us and then…"_ He trailed off.

"_Tyler, please, what's the last thing you remember?" _

"_It was cold…we… we were crossing something. My pants were getting wet and…then the vampires."_

Wet…cold…the lake.

"Hold on, Tyler."

With that promise, she ran, past all the trees and roots tripping her on her way. She fell down and then she quickly got up, not minding the cuts on her hands because she had to keep moving forward, she had to get to the lake, to Tyler.

It was dark, too dark with only the moonlight to guide her on her way. She kept tripping, falling, sliding on the snow but she never stopped to rest. Her hair kept flying into her face, her lungs burned, her legs ached, but she wouldn't stop, couldn't stop, not until she got to him. Not until she held him in her arms again.

She needed to get to Tyler.

She'd only been to the lake a couple of times, Tyler often liked to take her there with him when he needed to just get away from the world and relax. Often, she'd prepare a picnic basket and bake them something sweet, they'd sit on the picnic blanket she brought, him lying down with his head on her lap, basking in the warm glow of the sun. Sometimes they talked but mostly it was silence, comfortable and almost perfect.

She let herself bask in the memory as she followed the path Tyler had made her memorize, humming the little rhyme he taught her.

Her lungs started to ache to the point she kept coughing, her leg muscles feeling like jelly, the winter air was like a slap in the face, making her face numb and her teeth chatter but she pushed on, just a little more, almost there.

She finally reached the small clearing, her breaths loud and harsh as she tried to suck as much of the cool air into her lungs, the perspiration was frozen to her neck and her ears felt numb.

But those weren't the things she was focused on, all she saw was Tyler, lying half-dead near the lake, the bright red of his wound vibrant against the snow. She immediately ran to him, dropping down to her knees as her fingers reached out to touch the soft skin of his cheek, her own fingers felt frostbitten but his skin was ice, lacking of that usual furnace warmth.

"Tyler?" She uttered out in a whisper, her heart beating like it was about to burst in her chest. He didn't respond, didn't even flutter his eyelids. She tried to check for a pulse but it was weak, faint, barely there.

She felt like she couldn't breathe.

"Tyler, please!" She cried her voice cracking. "Don't die, please, don't leave me. Wake up, Tyler, come on, wake up!"

She was vaguely aware of the hot tears she was crying, her hand clutching his tightly as she waited for his eyelids to open. He remained still as a statue and with horror she realized his lips were turning blue.

"_TYLER!"_

She laid her head down on his chest, her ears searching for the beat of his heart and it was there, quiet but steady, continuing to beat. And she knew it beat the same as hers, telling her of things she'd always wanted to hear but was too afraid of to have.

But now, in the snow and hugging his cold body to hers, it may already be too late.

She closed her eyes and cried.

Up above her the Wolf Moon shone brightly against a starless sky, howls to be heard from a distance.

* * *

**The end.**

**Nah, just kidding, we still have the epilogue.**

**I have to say your reviews in the last chapter made me laugh so much. Some of you were just shocked speechless, some of you were very sweet and nice and others were cursing me for trying to give you all such a cliffhanger. I trust I'll get the same treatment here?  
**

**But yeah, that epilogue _should _be posted tomorrow...I think. **

**Am I sad this story's ending? A little bit yes, a little bit no.**

**Why am I looking forward to Miseria? Forwood love triangle. Without Matt in the mix. And it's a new mythology with new characters so yeah, lost of fun.  
**

**Take note: this story's finale we'll be a double event, I'll be posting the first chapter of Miseria Cantare at the same time. So at the end of this story, we get another beginning.**

**Check out this TV Spot I made for the luls. Warning: it's a little spoilery!  
**

http: /www. you tube. com/watch?v=mnBof4Et77c


	23. Sanguine

_All species capable of grasping this fact manage better in the struggle for existence than those which rely upon their own strength alone: the wolf, which hunts in a pack, has a greater chance of survival than the lion, which hunts alone._ **-Christian Lous Lange**

**Epilogue:**

Tyler's brown eyes bore into hers, the chocolate brown that she'd fallen in love with. "Caroline, you're staring again."

"No, I'm not." She denied even though she really_ was_ staring at him again. It was a habit formed from sitting by his bedside for weeks as his body healed from the wounds and wolfsbane.

You see having someone you love almost die in front of you can really bring some things into perspective.

"_Caroline." _He said her name in a voice that said she knew what game she was playing.

She just replied in a sing-song, _"Tyler" a_nd smiled widely at him, looping her arm with his as they exited the school building and into the courtyard. The pack was already there at their usual table even Amber was there with an unusually large book of baby names.

"Already choosing a name?" She quipped as she and Tyler took their seats. The other blonde smiled at her cheerfully before passing her the book.

"Jeffrey likes Parker and Justin but I have my heart set on Ethan." Amber explained. Her hazel eyes were bright with happiness. Caroline suddenly understood what that pregnancy glow people kept going on about was.

Aiden suddenly cut in. "That's settled then. Aiden Ethan Lockwood-Hamilton…or Bradley-Lockwood-Hamilton – what's the kid gonna use?"

Caroline rolled her eyes as the rest of the table's occupants more or less had the same exact reactions.

_Oh Aiden, you will never change._

"Just Hamilton actually," Amber replied. "And no, Aiden, we're not naming our child after you."

The wolf boy had the gall to actually argue his case. "Well, why not? I think make a pretty good role model."

Caroline was about to mock him for that but Riley beat her to the punch.

"For juvenile delinquents maybe," The darker girl quipped inciting a laugh from everyone seated at the table except for Aiden who glared at her reproachfully.

"Muzzle your mate, Vander Wel."

Conor just responded by flipping him off which Aiden returned.

"Aiden." River chided him to stop, leaving him staring at her in disbelief.

"You're supposed to be on my side, Riv!" The wolf boy exclaimed in incredulity. "And you saw him, he started it!"

"Aiden."

"But–"

"No, just no."

He shut up after that.

"_It looks like River has him muzzled."_ Tyler's laughing voice rang in her head.

"_You're gonna tease him mercilessly for this, aren't you?"_

"_Of course."_

River interrupted their private conversation with a question. "So, what's on the agenda, boss?" She smirked salaciously. "Difficult mates, tyrannical alphas, coldblooded murders and escapee tomb vampires?"

Ugh…

Just remembering all what they've been through the past months was giving Caroline a headache. All that mate drama, the scandal with Remus and Sarah, Sarah's heartless murdering ways and the vampires that had been hidden under the old church since 1864 that escaped now of all times…

It was amazing they were all even there, alive and well. Even with Aiden still partially mourning the loss of Sarah who he had explained to them was his real mate. Apparently, her first shift came later than Aiden's and Aiden had no inkling of Sarah until a few months later when he was already mated to River.

It was all very confusing especially for Aiden who had been torn between two women, one who loved him dearly but he couldn't get close with because the other one threatened to kill her if he dare try to get any closer.

Of course, Aiden didn't know Sarah was murdering other girls as well or that she had planned to pin all the blame on Tyler so she could start over again when the pack was dead.

Sarah had met the tomb vampires a few months before and teamed up with them to get rid of the werewolves. The vampires having a hate of werewolves had latched on the plan since they couldn't go around ruling the town with the pack there guarding the place.

And the plan almost succeeded too until Damon Salvatore and the Founders Council came out of nowhere armed with vampire killing weapons and the tomb vampires became history as they should've been decades ago.

Caroline was relieved that everyone was fine and no one got seriously hurt except for Remus, they found his body in one of the other cells in the old Lockwood estate's dungeons. Reina, officially an orphan, was living with the Lockwoods now. Still, Caroline was a little annoyed with Damon feeling all smug about being a hero. It was downright nauseating.

But at least the vampires were gone and the Founder's Council didn't blow the pack's heads off when they found out about them. Tyler had somehow convinced his parents to appeal to the council and they had a fragile treaty.

As long as the werewolves didn't kill any people, the council wouldn't stock up on wolfsbane.

"None of the above, actually," Tyler answered before turning to Reina. "Except for Option A maybe."

At that Reina glared at her older cousin, scowling as he smirked in that arrogant way of his. Caroline gave her a mate a mental sleep that had him almost falling off his seat in surprise.

"_What the-?"_

"_Stop being a jerk."_

The blonde smiled sympathetically at Reina who grew a sudden interest in her lunch. "Cheer up, Reina. I'm sure Jeremy will come around."

While Riley had fully accepted her role as Conor's mate, having arrived at Wolf Mountain that night desperately looking for him in the crowd when the council had taken care of the vampires, running to his arms and crying in joy at his safety, Jeremy still was see-sawing about what choice he was going to make.

On the other hand, he didn't care about Reina's fate to become a wolf every full moon. He still had a girlfriend who had threatened to wage war against Reina lest she back off.

Unfortunately, wolves never back down from a fight, ever. And Tyler had been disrupting a lot of potential catfights this past month, much to Aiden's disappointment.

"Yeah, they all eventually do." Aiden remarked. "Why wouldn't they? We wolves are irresistible creatures." Caroline scoffed as the green-eyed boy high-fived the other wolf boys who were laughing along with him.

_More like insufferable._

"_You know you love it, babe."_

"_Dream on, Lockwood." _She gave him another mental shove. "Don't you have something to announce?"

"Oh right."

"Listen up," Tyler drew attention to himself. "We have some news." Everyone at the table was tuned in to his every word as he continued. "My Uncle Mason's back in town and he's the new alpha."

Mason Lockwood, Tyler's attractive and fun uncle who greeted her with a megawatt smile and grey-blue eyes that looked into her very soul. Caroline had almost swooned much to Tyler's annoyance.

"Why'd he come back?" Conor asked. "I thought he was happily surfing in Florida or something."

Tyler shrugged. "I'm not really sure, he just arrived one day with a friend of his, having heard about all the crazy problems the pack's been having lately and it seems like he wants to help."

Caroline had a feeling something was up with Mason's sudden arrival in town and she knew that Jules would be in on it.

Now while Mason had charmed Caroline into a pile of goo, Jules had unnerved her. The she wolf treated Caroline like she was non-existent and possessive over Mason in an almost Glenn Close _Fatal Attraction_ kinda way. Caroline seriously didn't like her.

"_Stop worrying for a second, will you, Forbes?"_

"_Can't help it, being mated to a wolf can get a girl really paranoid."_

"_Why would it? You have an entire pack of wolves to defend you against anything…except for anything involving wolfsbane, because that stuff really hurts."_

"_You never change do you, Lockwood?"_

It was somehow comforting, the fact that Tyler would remain constant. While others around her changed and drifted away, Tyler would always be there, the one person that would love and annoy her for the rest of their lives.

"_You know you love it, Forbes,"_

She rolled her eyes at him but took his warm hand in hers and let herself be comforted by the stability and safety he provided. He was her rock, her strength, the person that she loved more than anything else.

"_Yes, yes I do."_

Tyler smiled.

* * *

**It's finally done! Woo! **

**And you guys thought, I would actually kill Tyler? Tsk, tsk.**

**So did you guys enjoy the ride? I did. What do you guys wanna see for the sequel that'll be a long time coming but you get to give your input now so I can plan.  
**

**Anyway, go check out Miseria, first chapter's up. It has Forwood, yay!**


	24. Extras

**Secrets in the Dark**

Gunshots rang through the silent night, cutting through the air and deafening her ears against the wild thumping of Caroline's heart.

Tyler's face was red and he was wincing from the pain, his breaths quickened gasps and he gritted his teeth to keep himself from screaming. They…they were still out there and they'd kill her and Tyler with no hesitation.

Caroline tried to calm herself but her nerves were shot, the terror was so thick in the air, she could barely think.

"Tyler?"

Her voice was barely above a whisper but he heard still.

"W….Wolfsbane," He gasped out, his voice muddled. "You have to dig the bullet out."

She didn't hesitate and her hands went immediately to his coat, tearing the dark material open to see the blood staining his white shirt underneath. Quickly, she pulled his shirt up from his torso to see the wound continuously flowing with dark red blood. There was so much blood, it made her throat tighten.

Apprehensively, her fingers dug in, trying to ignore the tortured hiss that came from Tyler as she grimaced at the warm, wet blood and flesh that greeted her fingertips. She went deeper, whispering apologies and reassurances to her mate as he tried to hold still until finally, she grasped cold metal and pulled.

Dropping the bullet to the ground, she took of her jacket and used it to try and stop the bleeding. Tyler's face was ashen and he was closing his eyes from exhaustion. She tried to keep him conscious, saying his name and talking to him about the most mundane things.

_He still kept bleeding and goddamn it, why did he keep bleeding?_

"Why aren't you healing?" She asked, the tears freely falling from her eyes because she didn't – _couldn't _acknowledge the fact that he could die at this very moment in the cold woods with her crying over him.

_And fuck, she couldn't handle this!_

"Don't die, please don't die, please…"

Her voice was so quiet, her voice so thick from tears that she wondered if he could still hear her. But he smiled that lazy, cocky smile and it made her smile through and despite the tears.

"I'm not going anywhere, Forbes."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

She crawled upwards and maneuvered him so his head rested on her lap, her hands wiping the sweat from his forehead and combing her fingers through his short hair.

"I think I just might hold you to that."

He chuckled at that but it was too low like they were afraid to break this strangely comfortable silence between them. It brought out a fresh bout of tears from her and he frowned with a new kind of pain.

"Don't cry, Caroline." His hand went up to wipe the tears away but it fell back to the ground, exhausted. Still, his voice held misplaced humor. "It's a lie you know, when they tell girls that they look pretty when they cry."

She vaguely remembered Adrian telling her that in what felt like ages ago.

"Is that true now?"

He just nodded, his eyes closed again and she felt her heart breaking.

_She had to keep him awake. She had to keep him with her. _

Her fingers trailed down to touch his face, his eyes fluttering open to look up at her. She smiled down at him wistfully and whispered, "You wanna know what the worst kept secret is?"

"What?"

"I'm completely, utterly in love with you."

No words rang more true to her.

And his smile seemed to light up the dark forest, a sweet triumph in his grin. "I knew it."

And there together in the silent forest, they found peace.

* * *

**The Not-So-Distant Future (AKA Pre-TSTS characterizations)**

Tyler Jacob Lockwood was getting married. Much to the great shock of most of Mystical Falls, Tyler actually found someone to settle down with. Yes, cocky, womanizing Tyler was _tamed_.

"Say that again and I'll break your jaw." Tyler glared in annoyance at his best man/beta/constant-pain-in his-ass who was smiling cheekily like the idiot he was. "I'm Tyler _fucking _Lockwood. I won't be tamed by anyone."

"Whatever you say, man," Aiden's green eyes still continued to laugh at him and Tyler resisted the urge to throttle the other werewolf to the ground. Aiden Wolfe was just too much of a dick at times and he didn't like it. If anyone was supposed to be a dick in the room, it was Tyler.

A loud crash resounded in the ballroom along with several gasps from the guests and he turned in shock to find several broken glasses and spilled champagne all over the floor. His dear sweet little cousin Reina, the absolute hellion, was looking around at the mess far too innocently while Conor stared wide-eyed in dismay.

Why the hell did he invite the pack again?

Aiden Wolfe he can handle, a few threats here and there, and the guy settles down. Being his beta, the guy knew how to take orders. Conor Vander Wel was such a golden boy he didn't expect anything to happen what with the guy's mate being invited too. Riley Fox would've kept Conor plenty distracted.

But of course, _Reina_.

He forgot just how much trouble the little freshman was. That sweet smile and angelic blue eyes didn't fool him. Reina Lucian was a bitch (in every sense of the word) that enjoyed causing trouble for everyone and everything. He was surprised she hadn't done or said anything yet to reveal to the whole town that they transformed into not-so-friendly, furry creatures once a month.

He loved his cousin, really, she was family, the pack's little sister. But she could not cause any more trouble for tonight. Caroline was already going crazy about their wedding tomorrow, he didn't want to know what she'll do if their engagement dinner gets messed up.

With a heavy sigh, he put on his best Alpha face and went to work.

One guest having a violent allergic reaction to the food, a brawl fight between Aiden and Matt, the cake mysteriously exploding and causing the sprinklers to go off, expensive clothes ruined by wine suddenly raining from the sprinklers, people screaming as they left the ballroom and a very soaked bride-to-be and groom later. Tyler and Caroline sat in the car, Caroline drying her wine-soaked hair with some tissues and moaning pitifully at her ruined dress.

"Is it too late to say I'm sorry?"

"No, but _my God_, that was…"

"Disastrous?"

"_Catastrophic_."

He winced and reluctantly agreed with her. He'd been to a lot of formal parties since he was a child and none of them were like this.

"Do you still want the pack at the wedding tomorrow?"

"Of course."


End file.
